Out of Time
by Nemo-Infinity
Summary: Time has its ways. Inside each being contains a clock of their own, a neverending ticking of life. New memories form and old memories pass. Time is an uncontrollable force. A boy with a power he thought was like none other, finds out he's not alone. There are others that wield immense powers. He'll find himself in a predicament, unable to escape it. What in time will he do?
1. Chapter 1

**A warning to all readers, I am a busy guy and I just happen to be interested in starting a fanfiction of my own. I've read a handful of Touhou fanfic and have played a tiny bit, generally Touhou 6 (what a nightmare). Don't expect the best out of me, but please enjoy it! I know for sure I am going to make some mistakes regarding lore so please point them out so I can go back and fix them! Thank you for reading and leave a review if you do enjoy it!**

* * *

The hot burning sun of summer beats down on a village with large farms in the surrounding area. The buzzing of cicadas fills the area, making the heat feel worse, reminding nearby goers that it was this time of year.

…

_*clack clack clack clack clack clack clack*_

A nearby vendor peaks out of his fruit stand, an old shopkeeper picking up a noise that seems to be coming towards him. With his degrading vision over the years, he squints at the distant figure, trying to figure what or who it is. A young adult with short, messy blonde hair sprinting towards him from, what he could make out, a group of other shopkeepers. In the arms of the young man was a shopping bag filled with all sorts of fruits and snacks.

"What in God's name is that kid up too…" The old man recognizing the troublemaker as well. It was Rex, a close relative to him that lived nearby. He let out a hefty sigh, preparing to close down the stand. The trembling grew as they got closer, the old man finally storing away the last of his harvest from his crops. He stands outside his fruit stand waiting for what was to come.

The troublemaker, Rex, finally notices the old man in the distant.

"Hey, Gramps! Look at what I snatched up today!" Rex excitingly raising his haul, dropping some of his spoils. He continued running, passing by the old man. "I'll see you later once I lose this crowd! They just don't give up!" Rex smirking at the old man.

The old man just couldn't believe it. This child is going to pay for his troubles someday. The thought of Rex just tired him. What was he supposed to do with him?

Rex had an idea to lose his pursuers. It always worked and will keep on working, because he had something that no one had or knew. Dragging his pursuers far away from the old man's home to not bring suspicion to him, he could finally enact his masterplan!

"You stupid thief! Don't think you'll get away from us this time!" The other shopkeepers agreeing and making more pointless threats as they continued the chase. They were slowly catching up to him and hopefully find out who has been taking their goods over the years.

There! Rex turned a corner, disappearing from their sights.

"We got him! That corner's a dead end!" The chasers reaching their destination, a variety of home utensils drawn to teach the thief a lesson.

The shopkeepers only stopping to find the end of the road empty.

"Wha-what happened? Where is he!" The shop keepers in panic and disbelieve as the thief had vanished. "There's no way for him to get away! How?" The dead-end had all sides surrounded in brick walls with only one way exiting, which they were standing at. In tiredness and frustration, the crowd slowly giving up the chase and returning to their shops.

* * *

The old man was sitting down by a short table in the living room drinking some cold tea, fanning himself. He was about to get up to check outside when he heard the front entrance door open and close.

"I don't want to know how you lost them this time…" The old man grumbled, paying no attention to his guest.

"Eh hehe... " There stood Rex, holding the bag with one hand, the other scratching his head in surprise. He went to place the stolen goods down on the table when the old man noticed him limping.

"What happened to you boy?!" The old man, ignoring his previous remark not wanting to know what happened in concern for his relative.

Finally placing the goods down, Rex collapsed on the tatami flooring, arms outstretched with a painful but happy grin on his face.

"Oh, just had to jump over some things and tripped over a bush." He lied, coming up with something to calm the old man. Well, part of it was true, but he tripped and injured his leg on purpose knowing the old man wouldn't let him go if he came back uninjured in some way. He knew how keen the old man was getting and he didn't want him to catch on and find about his secret.

He sat up, but as he did, he started coughing. Bringing his hand to cover his mouth, he realized that he was coughing up blood when looking back at his hand.

"This isn't just _some_ tripping accident! Look at you, you need help!" The old man in distress, getting up to find a first aid kit and his phone.

"No, Gramps! I'm telling you, I'm fine!" begged Rex, quickly getting up but stumbled over, feeling the throbbing pain in his left leg. He ignored the pain and limped over to the old man, continuing to beg him not to call the hospital or anyone else.

The old man sighed, wondering why Rex always comes home in such similar fashion. "Fine, but let me take a look at that leg."

Rex relieved, knowing the old man finally gave in. This would happen monthly, the events repeating itself. He would go out to "borrow" some goods, escape, get injured in some way, cough up blood, and convince gramps of not worrying over it.

After he was patched up, he went through his haul, taking out an apple and eating away at it, as he pulls out the rest of the goods. The old man sitting by in disbelief, shaking his head.

"I don't know how you do it, but I'm telling you this, your actions will come back to bite at you." His gramps warning him, but it fell on deaf ears as Rex was always lectured the same, getting used to the old man's warnings.

"Sure sure, but look at this! I got some of the newer snacks from one vendor, he even had the spicy ones!" Rex pulling up bags of chips that were in all sorts of colors. "Ooo, I think I'll go for this one tonight!" He opened the snack and finally relaxing after the long exhausting chase.

The old man finally got a good look at Rex for once today. For someone in his late teens, this boy sure has a carefree look after being in such a terrible situation. His short blonde hair was in a mess (it always is), sticking out more towards the front. The red short-sleeved jacket hung on the racks on a nearby wall. His black shirt was fine, much to the old man's surprise, but his grey jeans were smeared with dirt after his supposed "accident". What Rex didn't know was that the old man saw through his actions, knowing that he made it look like he ended up tripping. It was after the 6th time, the old man started picking up on his devious behavior, but never ended up prying into it, as he felt that would upset Rex.

"You should clean yourself up" suggesting the old man. "Tomorrow's the day, remember?"

Rex's carefree attitude suddenly became distant, his face emotionless, as if wanting to forget something.

"..."

"Did you lose your memory after tripping? We're visiting your parent's grave."

Still not wanting to talk, his deadpanned face turning away.

"Of course I remember… how could I? " He muttered and went silent, multiple emotions swelling up inside him.

Sighing, the old man put a hand to the young man's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll be with you tomorrow. Let's go pay our respects and find something to do tomorrow, alright? Take a break from work and let's enjoy some family time together."

Rex looked back at his gramps, feeling slightly reassured after his comforting words. Putting aside his emotions, he formed a smile on his face.

"Alright, bet with me you'll be there."

He held out his pinky and the old man laughed, taking the promise.

"I promise"

* * *

…

…

…

It was raining… a figure with a black umbrella stands in the middle of a field of graves. Each grave crumbling with time and age. Moss and other assortments of plants growing in between the cracks. The quiet pattering of rain fills the surrounding area. Despite it being the morning, the sun was covered in dark rain clouds, the weather's sudden change surprising many.

Rex closed the umbrella, letting the rain soak him wet. The jacket felt heavy with it being drenched and wearing down on him. His hands were cold and eyes distant as if his soul was detached from his body.

But it didn't matter.

He stood in front of a grave, but everything about it seemed untouched, unlike all the others. As if... it was just placed there recently.

…

_..._

_oh wait_

Written on the stone, "here lays **Toshiro Hara**, caretaker and guardian of **Rex Okada**. Died _**XX June XXXX. **_Age _**77**_."

Rex stood there quietly, head hanging low. His eyes slowly tearing up, but he refused to cry. Gramps would want him to keep smiling, but he couldn't muster up the strength to form one at all. Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he realized how soaked he was. Bringing back up his umbrella, he decided it was time to go back home and rest up for work tomorrow. He turned to leave but felt a presence suddenly appear behind him.

At that moment, there were two umbrellas in that field.

* * *

**I don't know if you guys will stick around since this is my first fanfic, but please do so! The biggest issue I am worried about is matching each character to their personality. I'm sorry for any mistakes in the writing and I'll make sure to fix them! I know that this chapter has almost no relation to Touhou, but it is setting up for the OC!**


	2. Chapter 2

_"Experiencing the death of a loved one is quite difficult to cope with."_

Rex froze where he stood, tightly gripping the handle of his umbrella. He continued to stay silent in hopes that the stranger would leave. The pattering of rain and quiet howl of wind filling in the silence.

"I must say, I'm quite surprised finding someone like you in the outside world."

_What? Outside world? What the hell are they talking about? _

"So what? Quit prying into others business and go annoy someone else," Rex lashed out. He was starting to get irritated.

"Ara~ looks like I've struck a nerve."

Judging from the feminine tone of the person's voice, he figured it was some lady visiting her husband's grave or something of the like.

"Whatever, I'm leaving. There's no point in talking to you. I've got better things to do."

He was about to take a step forward until…

"I've seen what you can do"

The stranger seeing right through him. Chills ran up his spine as he felt those eyes pierce through him with unknown intelligence.

He stopped in place, unaware of how tightly he was gripping the umbrella, knuckles whitening. He was beginning to feel anxious about how the situation was playing out.

"What are you talking about?" snapped Rex. There's no way that she could know, _right?_ He could feel a cold sweat starting to develop.

"My~, don't act like you don't know," she chuckled.

"Stop spouting nonsense and just leave me alone," spat Rex, wanting to put an end to this conversation. Still refusing to look back, he started walking away from the mysterious lady,

"What a shame… thought I had the right person for sure..." she sighed. He was trying to put as much distance between him and her.

_What a crazy woman, I need to get the hell out of he-_

His instincts flared up and screamed at him to move. He felt that something was coming towards him. Fast.

Rex quickly turned and threw his umbrella at whatever was coming at him. He fully expected whatever was coming at him to stop, but he was met with a surprise. He just couldn't believe his eyes.

The "thing" that he sensed seems to be a glowing violet ball of energy that just tore right through his umbrella, completely disintegrating it.

And that "thing" is flying right towards him.

"What the-!?" Rex cried, obviously surprised with what was going on. "Oh mphbfjn, shit!"

In seconds, the orb was right in front of him, inches away from his face, about to completely tear right through him as it did with the umbrella.

At that moment, everything seemed to slow down for Rex. Raindrops came to a stop. The wind seemingly still. Leaves scattered by the wind, now suspended where they were. The orb coming to a halt. His heart skipping a beat. The only thing that remained moving was Rex.

* * *

The secret he was planning on keeping to himself for his entire life had been revealed. He has the power to stop time, but only in short amounts without any drawback. If he held it any longer than five to ten seconds, he would start experiencing some sort of pain the instant time was reversed, whether it be physical or mental. It was as if his body couldn't handle the pressure of his ability. So far, the worst he has come across was a broken hand. The way he found out to use this power was to imagine a stopwatch, its timer starting at 0. It would start ticking the moment time was frozen, indicating in his mind how much time has passed.

"I can't believe I did it just in time…" he uttered in a shaky breath. "I almost had my face completely melted off…"

He collapsed to the ground right in front of the orb, dropping into a small puddle. There wasn't much time to relax. He took a quick look around taking pointers of what was happening.

A couple of feet away from him his assailant. Much to his surprise, she looked stranger than what he had imagined.

Long blonde hair in a mob cap tied in a thin red bow.

A white and purple Chinese tabard.

In her hands, a pink parasol held above her.

But what was unsettling to him was her eyes. Dark golden in color and stunning, but most importantly, they were looking right at him. It was as if she could see him, but he knew that she wasn't able to do anything. Unless… she knew that he had the power to stop time. That made would explain why she was after him, but what for? He tossed the idea aside, wasting away his precious time. That was something he would worry about later.

Rex got up, standing by the orb, away from its trajectory. He imagined the stopwatch once more, the second hand at nine seconds. Without warning, the watch cracked, glass shattering into tiny pieces. As if a rewind button was pressed, the broken stopwatch started coming back together, back to what it once was. The hands of the clock were now spinning, unable to stop.

Time was back in play.

* * *

The rain was quietly falling from the eery dark sky with a breeze that lifted the leaves that had fallen off of the trees in the cemetery. There stood a lady in the rain with her pink parasol.

"Oh, my~ maybe I did find the right one after all?" laughed the lady, giving a sly expression.

From her point of view, as Rex was backpedaling away from the danmaku, he instantly teleported off to the side away from danger. The danmaku shot right past his side and he didn't look too happy.

"Who the hell are you?" Rex asked the mysterious lady. "What do you want from me?" He made sure to keep his distance, ready to stop time if any of those killer balls of energy come flying towards him.

"I apologize for the rude introduction, but my name is Yukari Yakumo. I had to make sure you were the one with the power of time," she said, giving him a skeptical smile.

"You didn't need to try to kill me to figure out who I am," Rex pointed out. "I'm sure you already knew the answer from the very beginning."

"I'm quite surprised you picked that up," Yukari replied, twirling her parasol. "I just had to see this power in action."

Rex was in disbelief of this woman's actions, but he shook that off. "How did you find out…" He asked, curious about how she found out.

"Yes?" Yukari questioned, unsure of what he said. "I can't quite hear you with this distance you put in between us." She beckoned him over with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry I don't bite, _unlike some people_." Quietly keeping the last part to herself.

"How did you find out about my power," Rex repeated, ignoring her remark. "I was sure no one was able to find out about it until now."

"Ara~ curious are you now?" Yukari teased. "Let's just say I happened to stumble across you as I was venturing through the outside world. The first time I found you, you were almost caught trying to take a melon until you disappeared with it. I was quite surprised to find out about a human wielding the power of time. Quite uncommon I must say."

Rex was in deep thought, quickly recalling that memory, slowly feeling embarrassed about it. He was still a novice when it came to using his powers. Though, it was months ago, but why appear now?

Yukari took quick notice of this. "Ah, I'm sure you are wondering why I appeared now." She read him like a book. "I believe that you would make a fine resident at Gensokyo now that you are alone. Many people would be amazed by your unique powers."

Much to her surprise, Rex's mood suddenly dampened. He was reminded of his caretaker's death, distracted by the intensity of the situation he was in.

"If that's what you're here for then I refuse. My place is here in this village. I've got to take care of my old man's farm." Rex stated, crossing his arms and putting a more serious look on.

"Oh~ you're no fun! I'm afraid I can't take no for an answer," pouted Yukari, a more agitated look replacing her face. She had an interesting idea to do with this human and she was insistent on taking him. "I've already taken a couple of humans to Gensokyo today, you won't be any different."

"What even is this Gensokyo place? I don't recall any city or town named after that." Rex questioned, feeling slightly threatened by her previous statement.

"You can find out if you agree on coming over to Gensokyo. It's not often I give choices to you humans." Yukari exclaimed as she mischievously smiled at him. "I can assure you that it is a great and friendly place!" He doubted that statement.

Something told him that if he said no, terrible things would happen. _Wait did she just imply that she isn't human?_

"No"

It was too late. Those words came out before he had any chance of reconsidering his choice of words.

A vein popped in her head. So be it. It looks like she'll need to take care of this the hard way. She will have her outcome in the end.

Still a smile on her face, she started floating with a red gap that appears to be lifting her, the gap endlessly filled with red eyes. More gaps starting to appearing out of thin air with its eyes all looking right at him. She figured she would toy with him before sending him off to Gensokyo.

Rex would immediately regret his actions in the next couple of seconds after witnessing what the hell he has gotten himself into.


	3. Chapter 3

Rex swore that he had never seen so many things that could kill him in his sight. Every direction he ran, something was there to kill him. Turn to the right? A line of danmaku. Turn to the left? A giant ass laser beam. He was ducking and weaving the best he could, but there would be some that slightly graze him, leaving cuts and burns on his clothes and body. Even if Yukari was "toying" with him, this was too much for him to handle alone. Dodging cooking utensils and tools had helped him, but this was on a whole new level.

"My~ you are pretty good at moving like that," Yukari praised, enjoying the chaos that was being brought down upon Rex. She sat on a gap, floating in the air, twirling her parasol. This was, however, no fun at all for Rex.

Judging how those violet balls of energy just destroyed his umbrella, he did not want to end up the same, not realizing that they aren't lethal. They just hurt like hell to most people, enough to make them pass out, but Rex wasn't going to take any chances.

He felt a slight burn across the ankle, danmaku shooting right past him. "Psh!" Rex hissed, leaping over another danmaku. "Why! Are you so! Damn! Persistent?!" He was gasping for air.

"Well, if you hadn't refused an offer, quite rare coming from me, then we wouldn't be having such a difficult time, would we?" Yukari kept smiling at him. Everything about that smile was unsettling.

He was about to respond until he blinked out of time and teleported back away from a carpet of danmaku. "You're making this extremely difficult for me to talk you know?!" Rex yelled, needing to teleport again to avoid an incoming spiral of danmaku.

"Oh, so you agree on coming along?" Yukari exclaimed, briefly stopping her attacks.

"Like hell, I would!" Rex replied, pissed off how much he hurt and how drenched he was moving in the rain. "Can't you find someone else to take?" He put his hands on his knees, taking a breather.

"Ara~ tricking me into giving you a break? This next wave will be harder now," Yukari cheerfully said, bothered by his remark. "I'll make sure to send you to Gensokyo with this one."

"Wait wait wait wait!" Rex begged, but it was no use. He was back into a frenzy of dodging for his life. In the middle of dodging, a gap opened up beneath him.

"What the-?!" He nearly fell in the gap but managed to leap over it.

"Hmph," Yukari pouted, missing an opportunity to take him. "You are unlike any human I've come across." She opened more gaps for him to fall into.

Great. Laser beams, killer balls of energy, and now portals opening beneath his feet to dodge. Every muscle in his body ached and his mind drained after teleporting so many times. There's only a finite amount of times he could teleport before his mind would collapse from exhaustion.

"How are you holding?" Yukari asked, looking down at him. That damn smile. She was still toying with him.

"Not... In the best... Shape." Rex panted at each pause. All he could think about was the stopwatch breaking and fixing itself back over and over to trigger his power. He felt a sharp pain across his left thigh and clutched at it, collapsing.

Yukari floated down in front of him, stopping her barrage of danmaku and bringing her gaps closer to him. "You don't look as serious anymore," taunted Yukari. "Well, because of how nice and merciful I am, the previous offer is still up~"

Rex lay there in the wet grass, still holding his thigh. He practically overworked his entire body to avoid this outcome, yet he couldn't escape her grasp. She had him trapped.

"Well?" Yukari asked. "I can assure you that your life will be different over there, than here. That I can promise you." Rex could feel that she seriously meant it with no ill intent behind it.

Rex had no choice. He sighed, finally giving in. "Fine, you can take me to Gensokyo…" He got up, still holding his pained thigh.

Yukari clapped happily. "How wonderful! Another addition to Gensokyo!" she cheered, swinging her legs in the air as she floated up and down on her gap. "We should head over there right now! I'm sure Reimu will be happy to see me bring another guest to her shrine!" She prepared to open a gap to send them both to Gensokyo.

"You can take me to Gensokyo… over my dead body!" Rex answered, imagining the stopwatch once more. He could hear the stopwatch crack once more in his head and Yukari's expression was blank, caught off guard by his statement. Before time froze, he could hear Yukari's voice cut off.

"WHY YOU?! AGH!" Yukari yelled. She was livid and her face red.

…

It was just him and time now.

Quickly, he ran in the opposite direction, his movement sluggish with his injury. The watch was ticking.

3 seconds passed…

8 seconds...

14 seconds…

Rex managed to get far enough where he could barely see Yukari. Going beyond his time limit, he risked getting a nasty consequence. His mind wasn't able to hold the time much longer from constant use of it. He dove behind a fairly large gravestone and hid, allowing time to start up once more after holding it for a total of 16 seconds. The stopwatch breaking and reforming in his mind.

_Time was back in play._

At that moment, his chest started trembling in pain and suddenly was coughing up blood. He tried to cover his mouth, but only resulted in getting blood all over his hand and shirt, After a couple of seconds, it subsided and he let out a shaky breath. Rex was just done with everything. He spent so much energy on getting away at that last moment and could barely move. Laying behind the gravestone, eyes feeling heavy and head throbbing in pain. He stayed like that for a while, but couldn't get the thought of Yukari finding him out of his mind.

It was silent again in the cemetery which only made him uneasy. He struggled to peek out of his spot, risking getting caught, but to his surprise, Yukari stood there where he left. Ducking back, he started to feel anxious.

_What kinda bullshit is she going to pull off? Oh god, I don't even want to think about it…_

Suddenly, he started feeling as if the world was shaking.

* * *

Yukari looked at the spot where Rex just was, his words repeating in her mind tantalizing her. From his perspective, he couldn't tell that she had a creepy grin on her face. Yukari was done playing with this stupid human. She knew that he was injured from one of her danmaku and knew he wouldn't be able to have gotten far. Using her parasol, she drew a line on the floor which created a gap. It didn't concern her whether he lands in Reimu's temple or even the Underworld. All that mattered was getting that stupid time stopping idiot.

"Playtime is over~," Yukari giggled with a frightening grin, "Out, out wherever you are~..." She tapped the ground with her parasol causing the gap she made to start multiplying and grow in size.

* * *

"No fucking way…" Rex could start to see the gap she made starting to multiply and grow wider in a matter of seconds. Not even his time-stopping abilities can do anything about that.

He also knew that there was no way of outrunning the gap with it growing so fast.

Sore all over, he could not move an inch. He let his fatigue take over, starting to feel drowsy. Closing his eyes, he prepared for what was to come. His fate down in that hell hole that she created. The gaps seemingly filled to the brim with arms and eyes. He couldn't even feel scared at this point because of how exhausted he's become. The cuts and burns on his body slowly became number. His tattered clothes were torn up by now. Calmly, he fell into a trance.

Then he felt as if he was floating. Opening his eyes once more, he could see the world slowly grow smaller.

He was falling... into an endless void.

The hands and eyes of the gap slowly covered up the opening, darkness filling the hole.

Rex finally succumbed to his exhaustion.

As he was falling, in his dreams, he swore he could hear the whisper of Yukari Yakumo.

**"_Welcome to Gensokyo, foolish one"_**


	4. Chapter 4

_*Tick tock tick tock tick tock*_

Rex opened his eyes to a bizarre sight. He was in the middle of a giant chasm surrounded by enormous gears. Its intricate arrangement never-ending, going out into the distance. They all moved rhythmically, thudding at each turn. He noticed he was on a fairly large cogwheel, horizontally place with a rod going through the center. It turned to the left every second, moving Rex along with it.

It seemed that he was in the center of this complex structure. Above him, a giant pendulum swung back and forth.

Rex stood looking around, amazed by the elaborate machinery, but the question remained. Why was he here? Where even is he? He pondered at the thought, his foot tapping the ground.

Suddenly, he heard a screech that echoed throughout the entire area. The gears shuddered in place, each in danger of falling out of their delicate positions. Rex looked up and squinted, seeing something tiny falling towards him. It was a small screw, landing on the giant gear he was standing on with a resounding clink.

_Uh oh, that isn't good…_

More tiny objects started falling from the sky, followed by gears of various sizes. The screeching returned, slowly getting louder too the point where it was almost deafening. He covered his ears while trying his best to avoid getting hit. It was hopeless, he was being pummeled by tiny gears, nuts, and bolts. A fairly large cogwheel struck him hard on the head, knocking him out. He fell to the floor, watching the place fall apart. His vision was blurring, slowly getting darker.

Right before passing out, he could faintly hear the cry of a girl…

_Rex!_.

* * *

.

Rex woke up with a start, jumping out of his position and collided his head to a tree he was laying against. Small streaks of sunlight gleamed through the canopy of the trees onto the forest floor.

"Ow?! What the-?" Rex cried out in pain as he rubbed the spot on his head.

Wide awake now, he got a good look at himself. He was laying at the foot of a large tree, covered in leaves with some sticking out of his hair. His clothes were all tattered and his shirt covered in dried blood.

_Where am I now?_ He pondered, quickly remembering the events that happened last night.

"That woman! I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind!" He got up, restless to confront her once more but realized that was a mistake. He quickly fell back down, groaning in pain. His previous encounter with Yukari left him sore all over. Numerous cuts and burns covered him, each too sensitive to touch.

"Holy… this hurts like hell!" Rex hissed. He rolled onto his back arms outstretched and started looking around. It seemed like he was in the middle of a forest, green everywhere he could see.

"Wow…" he whispered, impressed with the beautiful environment. "This place looks amazing…" Looking back up, he noticed a human-sized hole from the top of the trees. He put two and two together, figuring out that Yukari's gap had dropped him in the middle of some forest.

Finally done admiring the scenery, he forced himself up, pushing through the soreness. Using the tree to support himself, he stretched out in discomfort, finally loosening his joints and muscles from the cramped sleeping position.

_Now… where do I even go from here on out?_

He decided to pick a direction and stick to it until he reached something that signaled civilization. Using the surrounding trees, he limped in his hike.

_Here goes nothing…_

* * *

It's been only about thirty minutes into the journey and the sun was setting, but he was already dehydrated. The inside of his mouth had no moisture, feeling as if he just swallowed a mouthful of sand. The walls of his throat were like sandpaper, scratching his throat at every word. It was hell.

"Hoh ma god... " Rex murmured, unable to speak properly with such a dry mouth. "Wata… I need it…" He was reduced to a pathetic crawl.

_Out of all the things that could kill me right now... it ends up being thirst... what a way to go..._

In the middle of his cries, he heard it. The fountain of life. An oasis in the middle of a desert. It was water!

Or rather he heard the splashes of water nearby. It didn't matter to him as long as it was something to drink. He got up and ran to the source of the sound, his thirst overpowering his aching body.

The surrounding area was slowly getting foggier, a possible sign for a lake! He sprinted through the fog as he could feel the temperature dropping.

There! He could faintly make out the edge of a lake, his vision partially obscured by the emerging mist. Upon reaching the lake, he hastily scooped up the water drinking as much as he could. The cold water revived him, refreshing his body. He felt like a new person, energy back into his system.

He toppled onto his back, panting heavily while wiping his mouth. "Hah… What are the chances… " After solving his thirst problems, he could feel his stomach rumbling.

_I haven't eaten in a while… agh, just when I thought I was fine..._

Getting back up, Rex began to explore the area. It was nightfall, darkness covering the lake and forest. The heavy fog was making it difficult to see, blocking most of the moonlight. He could only see within an armlength, showing how ridiculously thick the fog was. Running into a tree, he cursed out loud and continued forward.

*_**BRRRRIINGGGGG***_

A resounding ring of a bell echoed throughout the night, waking up the creatures of the night.

_What the hell was that?! _

Rex suddenly had a chill run up his back. The bushes around him started to rustle.

He did not want to stick around to find out what it was, darting away from the bush and blindly running through the forest.

_Fuck that shit, I'm out!_

He had no idea where he was going, losing his sense of direction as he swore he could hear more bushes shaking behind him.

Running as fast as he could, small branches whipped across his face while the bushes below scratched at him. He stumbled into a small rocky clearing and got on top of a fairly large rock. Moonlight shined down on him. Using it to his advantage, he started surveying the area in hopes of spotting his pursuer, but the dense fog made it difficult.

_What the hell was chasing me?_

He continued to scan the area, goosebumps running up his arms. Suddenly, a small shrub shook to his right, quickly turning to it.

As soon as he turned, he blinked and the whole world turned dark.

"Wha- I can't see?!" Rex yelled in surprise, waving his arms in front of him.

As he was panicking, he felt something slam into him.

Rex and his assailant went down to the ground. A sharp pain ran down his back, falling onto multiple rocks. The collision had knocked the air out of him.

Opening his eyes, he realized he still couldn't see and felt his attacker leap on top of him. The assailant was stupidly strong, pinning him down. A vicious grip crushed his wrists, forcing them down off to his sides. Rex squirmed, struggling to get out, but it was impossible.

_What is this absurd strength?! _

He summoned the stopwatch into his mind, ready to freeze time, but his train of thought was interrupted with a sudden jolt of pain.

Something bit down on his shoulder, the pain was unbearable. _I'm being eaten alive?!_

The assailant's fangs crushed down on his shoulder. Rex let out a cry, but no sound came out of him. Indescribable pain overtook every sense in his body, his back arching. He tried to shake off his attacker, but the fangs sunk deeper into his flesh, horrific squelches coming from it.

_I- I need to do something! _He panicked. It was impossible to focus on his ability.

Rex desperately searched for another solution. Thrashing around, he managed to slip an arm through their grasp and blindly scoured the ground for something. Feeling a rock, he picked it up and struck down on his attacker as hard as he could, flinching them. It loosened their grip on him for a split second.

_There!_ It was his only escape!

That split second was all he needed. Quickly, he reimagined the stopwatch and broke it, before he felt the bite squeeze back tightly.

"_**AHHHHH!"**_ Rex screamed in agony, his voice returning. Time was stopped, briefly giving him a break. Slipping his other arm out, he blindly clawed at his assailant, still unable to see.

Rex needed to get out, but how?! He only had a few seconds left as he could barely maintain the image of the stopwatch in his mind, the pain worsening in his shoulder every second.

An idea formed in his head. He was unsure this would get him out, but he had no chance. He felt around his assailant's face (what seemed to be a feminine figure) and felt an opening where their mouth was from his shoulder. Clawing up dirt from under him, he quickly shoved as much dirt as he could into the opening.

_Let's see how you taste this?!_

Time continued once more.

What a silly human, thinking he could beat me with some stupid stones?

Rumia had flinched at her food suddenly striking her. Her meal was struggling too much, making it hard to find a proper grip to rip out a chunk of flesh. This was irritating her.

_I'll make sure to end this human's life painfully slow._

As she was about to clamp down harder on his shoulder, her mouth was suddenly filled up. A disgusting bitter taste washed over her entire mouth.

"_**ACK?!" **_Rumia spat, letting go of the human. Dirt started spilling out of her mouth, gagging at the aftertaste. She released her spell of darkness which let Rex be able to see again.

_It worked?! _Rex thought to himself, amazed his idea had worked. There was no time to marvel at his success, acting quickly by sliding himself away underneath Rumia.

"Pftttt- wha- hey!?" She felt the human beneath her start to slip away. Her meal was getting fleeing! Spitting out the remaining bits of dirt, she readied for another bite, but before she could, Rex had magically disappeared underneath her. "W- Where did he go?! He was right in front of me!"

She scrambled back up, bewildered. There was no way. How does her meal just vanish into thin air?

At that moment, Rex had started back up time and was already a couple of feet away from Rumia. He had frozen time to get the hell away from her. Now, he was running for his life.

"A_gh_… get me out of here…!" Rex hissed, running while tightly holding his shoulder. His wound bleeding throughout his black shirt. The area where he was bitten, his short jacket and shirt was torn and ripped apart revealing a large bite mark, bleeding from the fangs of his assailant.

Rumia could hear footsteps and the crackling of the forest floor off to her side. The scent of blood and a blood trail towards that direction made it even more noticeable.

"You won't be getting away from me this time!" Rumia yelled. She started to float off the ground, manipulating the darkness to surround herself and shot forward in search of Rex.

Rex leapt over a fallen log, almost tripping during the process. He stumbled over, but quickly recovered and continued running. Rumia loudly tore through the forest in search of Rex, making it apparent where she was.

_There's no way I can avoid her, I can hear her getting closer! _He was panicking, thinking of some ingenious way to get rid of her. No idea was coming through to him this time. He was going to be eaten alive.

Rex tightly grasped his shoulder, but it continued to bleed, leaving a bloody trail behind him. He rushed through a cluster of bushes, shooting out at the end, but to his surprise, it led to a declining hill.

"Oh shi-?!"

Bracing for impact, he raised his arms to his face and tumbled down the slope, toppling into trees and bushes that scratched him up. "_**Oomph!?**_" He coughed, colliding into a stump that sent him flying and came back down to the ground with a sickening crack.

"A-ah..." Rex painfully gasped, his mouth left gaping wide open, but no words could come out.

The pain was just too much to handle.

He laid there trembling for a brief moment before coming to his senses. Carefully, he got back up slowly, his body throbbing in pain. Getting back on his feet, he realized he couldn't use his opposite arm to hold onto his bleeding shoulder. It had broken in his fall during the landing.

_Great, a broken arm, just what I needed. _Rex silently swore to himself, but he couldn't run anymore. He was forced back to a crawl. Every action left him in burning agony. This was getting to be too much for him to handle. He was reaching his limit.

_Please… for the love of God, please help me!_

As if on cue, he could make out a stone wall in the distance. He could barely see it, the night getting darker and his vision faltering due to blood loss.

_A man-made structure?! _This was the first sign of civilization he had come across in a while. He was beginning to feel hopeful, believing in at least a chance to get some help, but they were suddenly crushed, hearing the cries of Rumia in the distance behind him.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Rumia screamed, furiously yelling at the top of her lungs. It pierced through the silent night, nearly waking every creature in her vicinity. She flew across the sky, the moon illuminating her as she continued to follow the blood scent of her meal.

Enduring through the pain, he stumbled over to the stone wall. Stopping in front of it, he got a closer look at its condition. It was a deteriorating wall, some of its bricks sticking out, but giving it a push, it was still quite sturdy. The wall was only a couple feet above him. Vines covered the entire wall, meaning it must have been here for years.

He knew that he had to get over, but it would be impossible with a broken arm and injured shoulder on separate arms. However, he had no choice. It was either do or die.

Rex could not use his broken arm, but his other one was left functional at the very least. It did burn like hell if he put any pressure on his shoulder, but he had no other option. Gripping onto a jutting stone of the wall, he lifted himself off the ground and put his feet onto a couple of vines.

"Ugh…" Rex groaned, the pain steadily building up. He ignored it as best as he could, riding out the pain. He continued to scale the wall, latching onto hanging vines and small crevices in the wall. His broken arm hung off to his side, climbing with one hand.

Eventually, what seemed like forever, his hand reached the top of the wall, gripping onto the metal railing on top. He hung off the wall, catching his breath and trying to ease the stress put onto his body. "I-I can do this… I just n-need to hold on for a bit longer…" He reassured himself.

That reassurance would soon fade quickly, as he could hear Rumia cry out behind him in the distance.

"YOU!" Rumia howled, finally finding Rex who was about at the top of the wall. "I've been starving all night! Get back here!"

She was pretty far, but she was closing the distance fairly quickly.

Rex started to panic, scrambling up the wall. Clenching his teeth, he hoisted himself up to the top, grabbing onto the metal railing that covered the top of the wall. It hurt like hell, his muscles nearly giving out at that last move.

Finally, upon reaching the top, he leaped off without hesitation and was sent plummeting to the ground. With a crash, he laid there sprawled out and out of breath.

_I'm done… I can't move anymore… _Rex silently thought, using his last remaining strength on the climb. He tried getting up but he was powerless. _I-... I have to move… run… go… _His eyelids were flickering, before finally closing. Exhaustion had taken over him, burned out from all the running and torment.

Rumia was floating away at a meter's length from the wall, after watching Rex go over the wall.

"There goes my meal... I can't go after him now...," Rumia sighed, giving up the chase that easily, despite how infuriating it was to her.

She looked at the area Rex had entered. It was territory that she wasn't allowed on. If she was caught in it, she would surely be dead for trespassing.

In the middle of thinking, her stomach started to growl. That human was supposed to be her dinner for the night, but it looks like she'll have to find something or someone else to eat instead.

"If only that stupid human didn't go in there... " Rumia fussed, stomping her feet on the ground. "Hmph, I hope Mystia has some leftovers… or maybe some grilled lampreys…" She started floating to Mystia's home.

Taking one last glance back at where the human was, she flew away. The moonlight shining down on her and the enormous structure behind her. It was a red European-style mansion with a tall clock tower on the roof. The bell rang once more in the night.

_***BRRRIIINNGGGGGGG***_

_Looks like that human's going to end up someone else's food  
_

* * *

As you can tell, my upload schedule will be inconsistent. The past month was very busy for me because of school-related stuff so I only had about an hour to work on this every day, some days I just went right to bed. Despite my slow schedule, please do enjoy every chapter that I do manage to release. Let me know about any grammar, lore, or anything else that needs changing in the story. I'm not the best at storytelling or writing, but this is something I want to do as a side thing. Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

The sun was emerging from the horizon, erasing the darkness of the night. Birds started emerging from their nests, chirping filled the forest. Warm sunlight shone down on the earth, warming up the previous cold night.

The secluded European-styled mansion stood undisturbed, the light gleaming through its windows. Below was a grand garden, surrounded by bricks walls and tall iron fences. A stone pavement went directly from the gateway to the entrance of the home. In the center stood a large fountain. Small shrubs and tall bushes decorated the pathway. Planted by the wall were trees and various types of flowers, but most notably roses.

It was a serene atmosphere until a snore broke the silence. Leaned against a pillar by the gateway, someone had fallen asleep. A girl with scarlet hair in a green beret and dress snored in her sleep. She was shivering because of the cold night, tucking her crossed arms closer in.

"Mmm… hungry…" The gate guard murmured in her sleep. She didn't have time to eat dinner last night, all spent on standing guard instead. The sun was slowly warming her, which she smiled happily while still asleep. A small monarch butterfly would fly down, landing on her nose.

Her eyes shot open, abruptly waking from her nap and ducked. Almost out of instinct, she dodged a blue hilted silver dagger. It struck into the pillar, where her head was just a moment ago. The dagger was lodged deep into the stone piercing the butterfly along with it.

"How many times do I have to tell you to not sleep on the job Meiling…" A particular maid sighed as she stood in front of the guard, arms crossed. The maid had silver hair with long braids on both sides of her face, ending in a green bow. She donned a white maid headband and wore a black and white striped long-sleeved shirt with large white cuffs. Below, a black and white skirt with stockings in a similar fashion. She was tapping her foot, shoes clacking onto the stone pavement.

"You could've let someone into the mansion."

"Eh he…" Meiling anxiously replied. "My bad Sakuya… I was just really tired last night, I swear!" Her hands were together, raised above her bowing head.

Sakuya rolled her eyes, hearing the same excuses time and time again. "Here I made some food for you," she said, lifting a big shopping bag and reaching in to pull out a small lunchbox. "Your dinner was left untouched last night, so I figured you were hungry this morning."

A pleasant aroma came from the box. "You made something for me? Thank you~!" She happily accepted the meal and took notice of Sakuya's attire. "Oh, you're not in your usual clothes, what's the occasion?"

"I'm going to be at the human village for a bit," Sakuya responded, showing the shopping bag in her hand. "Our supplies are running short and I wanted to try out a new tea for the young mistress."

"Hm… I see" Meiling listened, getting back up while dusting herself off. "When you come back, want to spar for a bit?" She asked grinning, punching the air in front of her. "I'll make sure to go easy on you."

Sakuya sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'll be very busy organizing the food and preparing meals for everyone. Not to mention I have to clean around the house today," She coldly replied. "So no. I'm sure you'll be doing your job properly this time I assume?" The maid was radiating out a threatening aura.

"O-of course Sakuya!" Meiling stammered, reassuring her. She saluted to the maid, taking a guard stance. "I'll make sure no one gets through~!"

"That's good to know," Sakuya smiled at her, the guard suddenly getting chills knowing that something sinister was behind that smile. If she were to mess up, her fate was sealed.

"Oh I forgot to mention, Lady Patchouli needs help in moving some of the books in the library. She discovered some books in the back that were not organized and Koakuma can't handle it all. She requested some assistance."

"Awww, I was just going to enjoy the _delicious_~ meal you gave me…" Meiling whined in disappointment.

"It's just heated leftovers from dinner," Sakuya bluntly responded. Meiling felt her feelings just get shot down.

"You can eat after you aid Lady Patchouli." The maid walked over to Meiling and reached above her head, yanking the blue dagger from the pillar. She pulled the dead butterfly off and tossed it aside, wiping the knife clean before putting it back in the knife holster on her left thigh. "Now that I've informed you of everything, I'll be off."

"All right then… I'll see you later today..." Meiling wistfully replied, Sakuya nodding back before heading down to the human village. The guard watched the maid disappear into the forest in the distance.

"She didn't have to be so cold," Meiling whispered, but she knew Sakuya for centuries. The maid's personality was always like this, strict on her for slacking off, but she always kept a friendly relationship between the two of them.

From inside the mansion, she could hear a resounding crash followed by a pair of screams.

_That sounds like a lot more than a couple of books, _the guard pondered, putting down her lunchbox by the fountain. "I'm coming!" She called out, running into the mansion to help them.

* * *

"_I'm coming!" _

Rex's eyelids fluttered open, the sunlight glaring down on him. He raised a hand to block the sun, eyes still adjusting to the light.

"What's going on…" Rex groaned as he sat up, a small headache started forming. He massaged his temples and started to see where he was, vision clearing up. It seemed he was in the middle of a garden, a luxurious one at that.

"Wow… what did I wake up to this time?" He marveled, taking in the scenery. Looking down, it seemed he rolled over a bed of flowers in his sleep. There were small marks of dried blood everywhere because of his injuries.

He moved to get up, but pain shot up from his right arm, suddenly reminded that his arm was broken. "Ah- fuck?!" Rex grumbled, swapping to his other arm to get back up. He was still sore as ever with that bite he took as well.

Taking off his red short jacket, he pulled back his right sleeve to reveal the full extent of the injury. It was a nasty wound, bite marks everywhere, the flesh almost ripped off and small holes from the fangs of his assailant. Nearly all the blood was dried and it was sensitive to the touch. He needed to take care of the wound, otherwise, it'll get worse. The same goes for his broken arm. His entire right side was in agony.

"Holy crap… this is going to leave a mark," Rex said in disbelief. His shirt and jacket were caked in dried blood, prominently at the shoulder area. He couldn't rip his shirt and use it to bandage the wound as they do in movies, his injured arm made any movement with it difficult.

Carefully, he put back on the short jacket and ruffled his hair, which was all over the place.

From what he learned in the forest, it was to not trust anything here. Rex cautiously made his way around the garden, arm hanging uselessly by his side. He noticed a fountain in the center and cautiously moved in closer. Something smelled good in the air, but this made him only more anxious. Peeking from one of the tall bushes, he saw a boxed lunch by the fountain.

_This has to be some bait. No idiot would fall for that. _

He continued to look at the lunch, stomach growling in tempting him to reach for it. Its savory aroma only made it even more enticing. When you're this hungry, anything seemed to taste good.

_I can't stand this, I'm starving. _

Taking precautions, he froze time and went to retrieve it, returning time as he got back into his original position.

_Goddamnit, I am an idiot, _Rex quietly scolded himself, now with the boxed food in his possession. _Well, there's no turning back._

Tentatively using one hand, he opened the lunch as far away from him like he was going to open up to a bomb. Unclamping the sides one by one, removing the lid finally and pulled back, covering himself.

…

Nothing happened.

_Thank the gods in this forbidden world!_ Rex was relieved, looking at the food. It was pretty standard; rice, meats, and vegetables. Small cuts of what looked like steak sat by some broccoli. Each has its small compartment, separating the foods.

To Rex, this was a blessing. A gift from the gods. Picking up chopsticks hanging off the side of the box, he chowed down. _Holy crap, this is so good. _

He was savoring the taste as if he wasn't going to live tomorrow, though he finished rather quickly. Closing the box, he returned it to the fountain. For a small meal, it was quite appetizing, but he couldn't decide if it was just his hunger or actual good food that made it so enjoyable.

Taking his time, he continued to venture through the garden but didn't find anything of particular interest. Rex shook the gate, but it wouldn't budge open. He considered climbing the wall over, but he didn't have the power to make it over. The adrenaline last night was the only reason why he was able to endure through everything. Looking back at the towering mansion, his only option was to go inside, but he had no reason to.

Well, he needed to find something to patch himself up, but amidst his pondering, Meiling came walking out of the mansion.

"Man… why does Patchouli have so many books," Meiling uttered in exhaustion. "She keeps bashing me to read more books to "improve my brain"." She stuck her tongue out, imitating Patchouli's voice on the last line. "Hmph, at least I get to enjoy my meal now."

Rex froze after hearing her voice. Realizing he needed to hide, he hid behind a tall bush close to the gate. He put a hand over his mouth to quiet his breathing.

"Huh?" Meiling swore she heard some rustling in front of her. She stood silent, straining her ears to listen again. She heard nothing, but the fountain spewing out water.

"Hmm… I swore I heard something…" The gate guard shrugged, heading towards the fountain to pick up her food. She picked up the box and immediately felt its weight. Her heart had dropped, along with the box.

"N-No way... " Meiling murmured to herself, instantly dropping to the floor in front of the box, her face in disbelief. With shaky hands, she unlatched the lid. Slowly lifting the cover away, she gasped at the sight.

Rex could hear everything from the position he was in, cold sweat starting to form.

_That was her food… Oh, shi-_

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

A piercing cry echoed throughout the residence followed by sobbing.

Koakuma ran out of the mansion, panting heavily. "Meiling? What happened?" She asked, hearing the cry.

_Someone had eaten my food!? _Meiling was on her knees, ignorant of Koakuma. She knelt in front of the empty container. _This was probably the most important and exciting part of my routine today!_

"M-Meiling?" Koakuma quietly asked once more.

Patchouli was looking at the scene through one of the library's few windows. She had sent Koakuma to check up on Meiling, but she was getting curious herself.

"Hehehe," Meiling chuckled creepily, suddenly finding the situation funny. "Those stupid fairies… they were probably the ones that did it. They are probably still lurking around here with their thieving mouths."

Meiling tightly made a fist. Slowly her sadness would transform into a rage. She punched right into the floor, a small shockwave shook the garden. The area she struck, her fist had gone right through the pavement, cracks emerging from all sides.

"Uwah?!" The little devil assistant nearly falling to the shakes.

Deep inside, Rex knew he fucked up. If he were to come into contact with whoever that was, he was sure to be beaten into a bloody pulp.

_Oh dear lord I'm screwed_

"I think it's about time to come out fairies…" Meiling menacingly said, starting to walk around the garden.

Rex could hear her footsteps getting closer, his heart beating faster in fear. Right as she was about to turn the corner, he froze time and ran as fast as he could over to a different bush.

Koakuma ran over to Meiling, grabbing her left arm and tried to pull her back. "M-Meiling! I know those fairies always like to pull pranks but c-calm down!" The little devil was being dragged along with Meiling.

"Those fairies need to be taught a lesson!" The guard howled, reaching the breaking point. Her face was almost as red as her scarlet hair. It seemed that the fairies had been bothering her lately.

"First, they hid all my stuff everywhere. Next, that stupid ice fairy nearly froze the entire garden cause of some stupid frog that got in. And now, they ate my food!? What more can they do?! Aaaahhhh!" Meiling clutched her head, swinging left and right.

"I-I'm sure Sakuya will come soon!" Koakuma reassured her, still being dragged around. "S-so please, calm down for a bit! I-I can make a small snack for you if you want?"

"Eh? You'll make something for me!?" Meiling remarked, stopping instantly to turn to the devil, eyes suddenly gleaming.

"Y-yes, so if you would…" Koakuma twiddled her thumbs around awkwardly. She only has made snacks for Patchouli, so it should relatively be the same.

"Oh, thank you Koakuma~!" Meiling tightly hugged the devil, nearly crushing her. All the anger she felt seemingly vanished.

"Uwah~!" Koakuma cried out as she was being shaken around in Meiling's bear hug, face deep into her chest.

From the window, Patchouli sighed looking at the mess of the situation. _What kind of blockhead do we have for a guard… _she thought to herself, constantly reminded how much of a fool that girl can be. _Hah...this is why I tell her to read more..._

_She's finally distracted, it's my time to get the hell away from here! _Rex was not going to let this moment go to waste.

Freezing time, he ran across the frozen pair, taking notice of their appearances. _Note to self, do not piss off the green girl and i-is that a devil?! _He kept on moving.

His only option was to go inside the mansion. It was better than being caught and beaten to death by the girl with absurd strength. Reaching the entrance of the house, he unfroze time and ran

* * *

_Hm?_ Patchouli had felt something strange in the air.

Being naturally born as a magician, she had always felt the essence of magic floating throughout Gensokyo, but something was wrong. The air had felt like something had shifted similar to when Sakuya would use her time manipulation, however, she knew that Sakuya had left to the human village.

_Has she already returned from her trip? If so, that was quite fast even for someone to manipulate time. _Patchouli looked back into the window, scanning the gardens. _Nothing seems to be out of place… _Just as she was about to go back to reading, she had spotted Rex hiding behind one of the tall hedges in the garden.

_A human? How is that possible?_

Patchouli studied the human, watching its every move, curious to how it managed to get inside, let alone reach the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Her trail of thought would be interrupted as she saw the human vanish into thin air.

"What?!" the magician yelped in astonishment, breaking her usual deadpanned face into one of bewilderment. Putting her face closer to the window, she scanned the area once more, finding the human already at the entrance of the mansion. Watching the human run in, she had noticed the man was injured, his right side all damaged. She was left dumbfounded.

Patchouli pulled away from the window and floated down into her library. "This is absurd. It should be impossible for another human to wield power like that," the magician wondered out loud while descending.

She was unconcerned about the human and more concerned with finding an answer to a burning question in her mind. Stopping at one of the bookshelves on the ground floor, she pulled out a book and blew the dust off, coughing at the dust clouds. Flipping through the book, she paused at a page and read its contents before putting it back, unsatisfied. As Patchouli was going through her library, Rex was already deep into the Scarlet Devil Mansion...

* * *

Rex had already encountered some of the fairy maids cleaning, though all he had to do was freeze time momentarily to get past them. Strangely, nearly the entire house was left in the dark with candles and lamps being the primary light source. Going down a long red hallway with doors lining both sides of the wall, he was sure that he should be reaching the back of the mansion. Coming to an intersection, he had the choice to go left or right. Peaking into both ways, they were empty and chose to go to the left.

_Is it just me or is this house bigger than what I initially thought?_ Rex wondered, taking another left turn. Occasionally, he would come across large paintings decorating the red walls. Many were your standard renaissance-like paintings, but once in a while, he would stumble upon some eerie looking ones.

A lake of blood with a red moon, roses in a pot of blood, a bleeding human and so on so forth. They all had the same sort of imagery - blood - and lots of it. This creeped him out, shuddering as he passed each one.

Suddenly, he started to falter in his steps, nearly tripping himself. He leaned against the wall for support, eventually collapsing to the ground. His vision was slightly blurring, slowly feeling the headache returning.

"Hah… hah... " Rex let out a shaky breath. His injured shoulder began to feel numb, now realizing the cause of his terrible condition.

_No wonder… I've lost a fair amount of blood these past two days… I need to find something to patch my wound up pronto... _

Taking one deep breath, he struggled to get back up, using one arm to lift himself. His left side leaned to the wall, he persisted on, pushing himself further into the mansion.

It felt like he was navigating through a labyrinth, each hallway looking identical.

About to turn at another intersection, he heard a small conversation right around the corner. It was a pair of fairy maids with one holding cleaning utensils. Rex stuck closer to the wall, the darkness cloaking him.

"The chief maid is out getting food and we've finished wiping the windows. Can you return these back to the kitchen? I've been called to help wash the clothes," the first fairy asked the other, holding out a water bucket and a dirty rag.

"Sure, I don't mind! I'll help you guys after since I'm done with my tasks," the other fairy said, taking the utensils from the other, offering her help in the end.

"Great! I'll make sure to tell the others!" happily clapped the first fairy. "Make sure you put those back properly!" The fairy disappearing into one of the many doors.

"_Umph_!" The second fairy lifted the bucket with the rag hanging out of it and flew down another path, not noticing Rex crouched by the wall, eavesdropping on their conversation.

_The kitchen? I'm sure I can find something there to fix myself up…_ Rex thought, choosing to follow the maid.

Stealthily trailing behind her, the fairy would unknowingly lead Rex to the kitchen of the Scarlet Devil Mansion...

* * *

I now have mad respect for writers now. Never realized how difficult it is to do this, but I am enjoying it (somewhat). This chapter came out quicker than I thought, which is a good thing :) As always, please point out any mistakes so I can go back and correct it. Thank you for reading and enjoy your day!


	6. Chapter 6

Floating down the dimly lit hallways of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, a fairy navigated her way through its complex structure, unaware of the person trailing behind her.

Rex stuck close to the wall, slowly following the maid. He was gradually losing her, his injuries proving worse than he had anticipated.

"Hmm~hmmm~," the fairy maid hummed. She then took a sharp right turn, heading down to a large open room.

Picking up his pace, he turned the corner and stopped. Rex walked to the center of the room and glanced back. It had two flights of stairs leading up higher into the mansion and in between those two stairs was the pathway he just had come from.

"This place is just one big maze…" Rex uttered, looking up to a dazzling chandelier hanging above him. Whoever owned the mansion had to be crazy rich.

He looked to his right, it was a large space where a long polished dining table settled, silverware atop perfectly arranged. Large cabinets holding delicate pieces of priceless tableware stood by the wall. An open doorway was by the table, seemingly where the fairy had entered.

He quietly approached the doorway and took a peek in, only to pull back and scamper under the table. The fairy was coming back, finished with her small task. She flew over the table without noticing the trembling human beneath the table.

Rex could feel the headaches returning, starting to feel weaker. Sweat started forming as his breath quickened. Getting out from under the table, he stumbled into the kitchen, gripping onto the frames of the doorway.

The kitchen was gorgeous. A glossy wooden flooring ran across the entire room. The countertops were made of polished stone, shining when the sun from the windows shone on them. Various pieces of kitchenware and jars sat on top with a sink below one of the large windows. Wooden cabinets were lining around the top and bottom of the walls. A large fire stove sat in between them and a furnace facing towards it against the opposite wall. In the center of everything was a small countertop that filled the area, making the kitchen path into a square. There was another doorway far on the opposite corner. A large cabinet was by the doorway which he stumbled onto, shaking the contents inside.

Rex continued into the kitchen, using the center counter to keep himself up. He winced at every movement, his broken arm still hanging uselessly by his side.

Starting with the bottom cabinets, he flung them open in search for something to patch himself up.

Pots, pans, bigger pots, bigger pans, smaller pots, and smaller pans. That was all he could find, slamming the final bottom door shut out of frustration. He was breathing hard, vision somewhat blurry.

Getting back up, he clung onto the counter, knocking down all sorts of things to the floor. He couldn't care less about the kitchen and cared more about finding a medicine cabinet.

_Shit! This is getting really bad now… urgh... there has to be one around here… right? _

Rex opened the top cabinets, but so far all he could find were bowls, cups, and other useless things. He hastily pulled open drawers where spoons, forks, and chopsticks spilled out as he dug around.

A pulsating pain erupted from his shoulder, Rex grimaced. He clenched his fist, bent down by the counter. Slowly, he made his way to the opposite door, knocking over various pieces of equipment. Bottles and jars shattered to the floor, all sorts of spices poured out of them. A rack of knives fell behind him, clattering to the floor. He was making a mess, but there wasn't much he could do.

Grasping the door handle, he frantically opened the door to a dark room and to his right was another door. He opened that one to find the closet. Desperately looking around with one arm, he found the bucket and rag the fairy had carried with her. Pushing it aside, he searched around until he found a small aid kit. It was a goddamn miracle. The kit seemed a bit dusty and old, but it was still something.

Quickly pulling it out, Rex fell to the floor and hurriedly opened the small tin box. Inside was a bag of bandages, a box of cotton swabs, a roll of gauze bandage, a small bottle of alcohol, and some kind of "burn-away" medicine.

He grabbed the roll of bandages and the small alcohol bottle, the rest he tossed aside. The wound needed to be disinfected before he could wrap it up.

Rex took off his short jacket and bunched up the lower half of his bloody-dried shirt, bringing it to his mouth then biting down on it. He knew this was going to hurt like hell, so he needed something to distract him when it came. Pulling up his sleeve, he revealed the injury and opened the alcohol bottle. Holding it above the wound, he inhaled through his nose and tightly clenched down onto the shirt, slowly tipping the bottle down.

Then… his senses were bombarded with excruciating pain.

A stinging, burning wave of hot liquid washed over his shoulder. Rex could only make muffled screams as he bit down tightly.

It had felt like a thousand red-hot tipped needles were stabbing into him repeatedly. His skin felt like it was sizzling, scorching him alive. He repeatedly banged his head against the floor. Rex was beginning to feel light-headed, the pain was too much to handle.

"MhmawFYUTKawkdnk!?" Rex let out one last muffled scream, the waves of pain gradually dying down. He could feel warm blood dripping down his face. A small bleeding bruise formed on his forehead. He pulled out the shirt from his mouth. His jaw was tired from tightly clenching down too hard.

"Hah... Hah…." Rex gasped tiredly, collapsing against the door. Slowly, he took a roll of bandages and gently wrapped it around his shoulder multiple times, the white roll turning into a bloody red. Ripping out the last piece, he securely tucked it in.

He wiped the blood off his face with his already bloodied shirt, finally putting a bandaid over the bleeding bruise.

Exhausted, his arm dropped to the floor as he finally was given a chance of rest. Rex laid against the door and sat there in silence for the next couple of minutes. His shoulder and head were slightly stinging, while his left arm still hung uselessly, broken by his side. There wasn't much he could do with a broken arm.

Rex closed his eyes and quietly thought to himself, earning a well-deserved break.

He was sick of all this shit happening.

_Was returning home still even possible? Will I even make it out alive?_

He let out a shaky breath, remembering the time back at home and his Gramps.

"What the hell did I do to deserve this... " Rex muttered bitterly, remembering the girl named Yukari who had brought him here.

"Yeah… what a _"nice"_ place…"

Relaxing against the door, he looked around. The room was too dark to see anything inside, the entrance he sat by being the only source of light shining in. Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out through the dark an unlit lamp on its side, down on the floor.

Reaching out, he picked up the lamp and inspected it. It seemed to be a kerosene lamp and he needed something to light it up.

Rex stood back up and rummaged through the closet. There were all sorts of junk and equipment on the shelves. With one hand, he moved around the stuff, searching for anything potentially useful. Feeling small boxes in the back, he pulled one of them out. It was a small deck of playing cards, dusty from sitting in the back all forgotten.

Rex blew the dust off, revealing a familiar design etched on the cover of the deck. Cogwheels decorated the front and flipping it over, the back had the design of small daggers circling a stopwatch.

"Wow... never seen a deck like this…" Rex awed at the design, impressed with its craftsmanship. Opening the deck with one hand, the cards inside seemed untouched, each card clean and crisp without any scratches. He held the box in his mouth and pulled the first card, revealing it to be a three of diamonds.

The diamonds of the card were replaced with daggers, each in a distinct color. Red, Blue, and Green.

Rex took the time to stare at the card, curious about what he had drawn. Done pondering, he put back the card and left the box where he had found it. He grabbed another box from the pile, pulling it back towards him.

It was a matchbox! Thankfully there were still plenty of matches within it. Grabbing a match, he held the box in his mouth, swiping the match across the striker, igniting the tip. He brought it to the lamp and lit the inside, giving him a source of light.

Rex shook the match out and tossed it away. He placed the matchbox in his pocket if he ever needed to reignite the lamp. Picking it up, he held it up to light up the dark room. From what he could see, it seemed to a storage room, barrels and crates all filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables.

He wandered throughout the room, the lamp illuminating the path in front of him.

Rex slowly explored, reaching farther into the room.

He flinched, almost running into a hanging dried piece of meat. It seemed towards the back of the room was where the meat was kept. Rope tightly wrapped the dried meats, strung to the ceiling. The sizes varied from some being as big as him to slab-like steaks.

Rex continued to walk to the back, avoiding the hanging meats.

_*schllllk schllllk schlllk*_

"Huh?" Rex questioned as his shoes were sticking to the floor. Bringing the light down close to the ground, the floor had a red tint to it.

He took notice of a metal table against the wall reflecting back, carrying the lamp closer to get a better look. The lamp illuminated the table, unveiling what the darkness was covering.

Rex dropped the lamp in shock as it clattered to the floor. Glass jars and vials filled with a red liquid shined from under the metallic table and atop shelves.

"T-There's no fucking way..."

* * *

The sun was setting, a golden orange bathed Gensokyo in the afternoon. A pathway meant for Youkai's, its lack of humans being a large factor, was infested with multiple beast-youkai's. No human would dare cross its treacherous path, all except for one. Silver hair flowing in the breeze, an elegant figure walked the path meant for no human. On her shoulder, she carried a filled bag of groceries. She went on without any disturbances. Surrounding beast-youkai knew better than to pick a fight with her. Many believed she was not even human.

Sakuya Izayoi, a well-known name for those familiar with the youkai trail and the Scarlet Devil Mansion, was a servant and maid of Remilia Scarlet, a powerful vampire. Harnessing the power of time manipulation, her power was unmatched, except against shrine maidens.

The maid was on her way back from her shopping at the human village. She had gone to restock on certain ingredients and to try out a new tea she should make for her mistress.

Sakuya strolled down the path, the tranquil sounds of the forest ringing throughout the afternoon. She always had appreciated the beauty of the trail. Down the road, she spotted a familiar stand.

**GRILLED LAMPREY** \- presented the stand, owned by a certain night sparrow. It looked like she had a customer.

Rumia, the yokai of darkness, sat munching to a plateful of grilled lamprey, looking all miserable.

"Hey, Sakuya!" Mystia the night sparrow called out, waving out while flipping more lampreys on the grill. She greeted the maid to her stand as she arrived. "Welcome to my humble stand! What brings you here toda-?"

"Groceries," Sakuya impassively interjected, heaving the grocery bag up.

"Eh… hehe…" The night sparrow murmured, reminded that they didn't have the best relationship together having interrupted her and her mistress during the imperishable nights.

"W-Well… uh… the man-hunting hour is coming soon! Right, Rumia?" She looked to Rumia for support.

Rumia slowly nodded while munching on a grilled lamprey. She looked like she had gone through hell.

Sakuya glared at Mystia, the line reminding her of an annoying time.

"Mistreat the mistress once more and it's you who will be on that grill. You won't be getting off so easily," the maid threateningly said with a smile. Her mistress, Remilia, had always said to smile more, enjoying the look on her face.

To Mystia and Rumia, it looked as if she was about to murder them, about to turn them into porcupines of daggers.

"G-gladly! I will definitely make sure not to mess with you guys again!" Mystia stammered, reassuring the maid. Usually, she was annoying and boisterous but even she knew better than to mess with the residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. "W-would you like a grilled lamprey? It's on me, no charges!"

Sakuya shook her head no, declining the offer. The mood was awkward between all three of them.

"U-uh… oh yeah!" Mystia suddenly was reminded of something. "Rumia, why don't you tell her how a- _*pfft_* a hu- _*pfft_* a human got away from you." She was holding back a laugh.

Rumia slammed her head onto the counter, her dignity all gone.

"I told you… it wasn't like any human I've come across… he kept teleporting all over the place," the youkai moaned, tired of the sparrow's mocking laughter. "I thought I had him, but he just disappears right in front of me… ugh…"

"I think you ate too many stupid humans~ You had to be on something if you were to believe in something like that!" Mystia joked, laughing while pointing at the youkai.

"Ahh! Shut it!" Rumia cried, hands against her face.

While Mystia mocked at the sulking Rumia, this had piqued Sakuya's interest.

"A human disappeared right in front of you? That shouldn't be possible unless...?" the maid questioned. She too was perplexed with the unusual encounter that Rumia had run into.

"You believe this idiot? There's no way that's possible," Mystia remarked as she flipped the lampreys on the grill.

"I'm only interested. Please inform me more if you find anything else later. I have a multitude of things to do back at the mansion," She snapped, reminded by the weight of the groceries she held onto.

Sakuya nodded farewell, gracefully and quietly she continued walking down the path. Mystia and Rumia stared at the maid as she disappeared in the distant.

"Actually, now that I think about it… the human's powers were fairly close to Sakuya's…." Rumia murmured, rubbing her head in frustration. "Ahhh… my head hurts…" She picked a finished lamprey off the grill and nibbled on it.

"H-Hey! You better pay up!" Mystia pouted, catching her in the act.

"Shut up! You don't know what I've been through!" replied Rumia, sticking her tongue out at the night sparrow.

"Why you-!?"

The two youkai's would end up bickering the whole afternoon, arguing with one another until they were both tired.

* * *

…

Sakuya's shoes clacked against the stone pavement. She stopped at the entrance of the gate to her and her mistress' home, the Scarlet Devil Mansion. At the gate, Meiling happily greeted her. The maid gladly waved back.

"Oi, Sakuya! Welcome back!" The guard waved, pieces of cream stuck around her lips. In her hand was a plate of a half-eaten slice of velvet cake. Meiling took notice of Sakuya's gaze and lifted the plate in front of her. "You want a piece?"

Sakuya politely pushed the plate away. "No thank you. Where did you get it from?"

"Oh! Um… about that…" Meiling nervously chuckled. "I got it from Koakuma's treats for Patchouli after… _someone had eaten the lunch you made for me_…" Her voice trailed off quietly on the last phrase.

"Who ate the food I made for you?" Sakuya asked, tapping her foot impatiently.

"So… that person got away… or rather I couldn't find them," Meiling anxiously answered. "But I'm sure it was just a couple of fairies that just wanted to pull some pranks, so no harm done, right?" She quickly mentioned, trying to reassure the maid.

Sakuya was tired, accepting of what had happened and sighed.

"Alright, I get it… just... let me through."

"Surely, milady!" Meiling happily said, relieved to find that she wasn't going to be lectured for the millionth time. She pushed open the gate for the maid.

Sakuya glared at Meiling as she walked through the gates, sighing even more as she approached the entrance to the mansion.

Reaching for the doorknob, she was about to enter until she noticed something on the ground.

It was a trail of blood, hardly noticeable at first glance, but Sakuya tends the mansion daily, knowing every nook and cranny of the building. The trail was apparent to her the very moment her eyes laid upon it.

Sakuya carefully put the groceries against the door and followed the trail. She was on guard, her hands near her knife holster wrapped around her thigh. The blood trail turned around a large hedge. She quickly turned the corner, three different colored daggers instantly appearing in her hand ready to be thrown, but no one was there. All that was left was a bloody mess and a trampled pile of flowers, more specifically the ones she was going to use in the tea for her mistress. Her mood suddenly darkened. In the back of her head, she recalled Rumia's encounter with a human.

_If the trespasser isn't here… _

Sakuya looked to the mansion

_Then they surely have to be inside…_

The maid looked to the entrance. A frightening aura seemed to revolve around her.

Walking back, she entered the mansion, carrying the bag of groceries in one hand and the other a fistful of knives.

She would deal with the intruder swiftly and without a shred of mercy.

_**Next:**_

_**Rex's Predicament**_

* * *

Hey there guys, I hope you've been enjoying the story. This one was difficult to finish because I've caught the flu and been coughing a shit ton. Really distracting, but I really wanted to continue the story. At least I got sick over winter break lmao. Still sucks cause it's been messing up my art schedule, bruh. I apologize for any mistakes I've made, I blame it on my flu . Thank you for reading and please point out any errors, enjoy winter break and Merry Christmas!


	7. Chapter 7

Inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Rex was shaking where he stood. He couldn't believe what he had just seen.

The lamp that he had dropped recently was flickering out, the flame slowly dissipating.

Rex gasped as it went pitch black, going into his pocket for the matchbox. He struggled in getting a match out due to his broken arm and constant shaking from fear.

Finally managing to pull a match out, he held the box in his mouth and drove the matchstick against the striker, igniting it. He spat the box out and went to the lamp, relighting it.

Standing back up, he was able to see the horrific sight once more.

Right in front of him was what seemed to be a dismembered human corpse. It was missing a head and part of its arms and legs. Whatever was left was cut off from the body, a large butcher's cleaver lodged into its chest. The metal table was a bloody mess.

Rex covered his mouth, nearly throwing up at the gruesome display. He knelt to the floor, try his best to recuperate. Blood covered the floor making the surface sticky. It smeared onto his grey jeans, staining them with a dirty brownish red.

It took a while for him to recover, slowly getting up, now able to cope with the horrific sight.

"What the fuck is going on here…" Rex whispered to himself, unable to find an answer. He looked around.

Various shelves were stacked with glass jars. Many were empty, but there were a couple filled with a red liquid which he could only guess was blood. More body parts hung off of hooks attached to the walls. Smaller wooden tables lined the back wall with more knives atop. It was unlike anything he had seen.

"I-I need to get the hell out of here as fast as possible," Rex said, slowly backing off away from the table. He was afraid of reaching the same ill-fated end like the corpse in front of him. The faster he got out of this damned place, the better.

Turning around, Rex scooped up the lamp into his hands and ran to the door. He ducked under the hanging meats and swerved around barrels and crates.

He headed towards the door and continued to run.

* * *

Sakuya had figured out someone had trespassed into the mansion. She was going to deal with the matter with herself to not worry her friends. From the blood, she surmised that it was probably human. It was also apparent that they were severely injured, making her job easier.

She strode down the red-carpeted entrance hallway, a big room that had one large staircase going up and several diverging doorways. One could get lost if they didn't know the right direction. Sakuya knew the layout by heart since she was the one responsible for manipulating space to make the already roomy mansion even more abundantly spacious.

She would first have to check up on Patchouli before putting the groceries back in the kitchen.

Wasting no time, she manipulated time and instantaneously appeared in front of the doors of the magic library located in the mansion's basement.

She knocked on the door and putting the groceries against the wall.

"Miss Patchouli, may I have a word with you?"

Sakuya quietly waited, expecting an answer. To her surprise, there was no response. Without a thought, she pushed opened the door, worrying for the magician's safety. It was unusual for her to not be here, she rarely left the library.

Entering inside, she looked around for Patchouli. The magic library had a large collection of books kept in bookshelves that floated in the air and some against the walls. It spanned high up, reaching the first floor and had windows with curtains covering them.

The maid spotted Koakuma floating above organizing a bookshelf.

"Koakuma~! Where has Miss Patchouli gone?" Sakuya called out to the devil assistant.

"Eek!" Koakuma yelped in surprise. She nearly dropped a book, desperately fumbling with it in the air before securing it safely in her hands.

"S-Sakuya! I didn't hear you come in!" Koakuma said as she floated down to greet the maid. She landed on the ground in front of her and held the book close to her chest. "Were you asking for Lady Patchouli?"

"Mhm, I was just checking on how Patchouli was doing," Sakuya responded. "Is she here?"

"Ah~! She's meeting up with the mistress," Koakuma answered, recalling a recent conversation she had with the magician "She never told me why I'm afraid, so I apologize if that's what you needed to know."

The maid shook her head. "It's fine, I'm just glad to find that she is still here."

_It seems the intruder hasn't encountered any of the residents of the mansion... _Sakuya thought to herself.

"Um… may I ask why you are so interested?" The devil shyly questioned, not wanting to rudely pry into her business.

Koakuma was now curious why Sakuya had been so interested in her lady's whereabouts.

_It seemed I piqued her interest... it's better off she doesn't know the situation…_

"I was going to prepare dinner," Sakuya remarked confidently, quickly coming up with a reliable excuse. It was partly true so she wasn't completely lying. "I was hoping to inform Patchouli what she wanted to eat since I came back home with fresh ingredients. It has been a while since I've made something specific for her and since she's not here…"

"Oh! I'll make sure to tell her when she returns," Koakuma gleefully responded, her wings fluttering slightly. "Though I'm sure she'll just eat anything you make since you're the one making them."

Sakuya's cooking skills were quite proficient, but that was expected to be being the personal maid of the Scarlet Devil, Remilia. Every dish was always amazing. The devil slightly envied in the maid's cooking expertise, having only some experience in pastries and tea she's made repeatedly for Patchouli. However, she was happy with her current skills and only wishes to improve from there on out.

"Well… I-I'm only doing my job..." Sakuya acknowledged the praise, feeling flattered not expecting any compliments. She felt a slight blush creeping up to her cheeks. Faking a cough, she brushed the emotion away and returned to her usual self, elegant and refined. Inside, she appreciated it but her job came first.

Koakuma was smiling brightly for some reason, looking back. The devil was glad in catching a glimpse of the maid being flustered.

"I have some matters to attend back in the kitchen so I'll be leaving now," Sakuya said, bowing slightly to Koakuma and turning around to leave.

"Ahh, okay~ bye~!" Koakuma waving goodbye, the smile remaining on her face.

Before closing the library doors, Sakuya smiled back.

*Ka-chick*

Sakuya let out a deep sigh while picking back up the groceries leaning against the opposite wall. The faster she got rid of the trespasser the better. She was starting to feel guilty for lying to Koakuma.

_I'll just drop these off the kitchen then I'll go around the mansion to find the trespasser,_

The trampled flowers were still fresh in her mind. She was waiting for weeks for them to grow so she could try out a new tea that her mistress could have enjoyed. Although she could just use her powers to speed up a new batch, she disliked that, believing that growing them properly is the best way to prepare them.

With her powers, Sakuya was sure she could find and eliminate the intruder fairly quickly, but the conversation that she had with Rumia and Mystia was floating in the back of her thoughts.

There was still a chance that Remilia, Patchouli, or possibly Rumia have already caught him.

While thinking of the possibilities of what could happen, she instantly disappeared. Her next destination, the kitchen.

* * *

Rex ran out of the storage room into the kitchen.

Upon reaching the doorway, he blew out the lamp and placed it on the countertop. The kitchen was a mess, the floor cluttered with things he had previously knocked down in a desperate attempt to find medicine for his wounds. The sight of the mess made him feel slightly guilty.

Rex carefully stepped over a pile of knives that he had knocked out of a rack. He was slowly treading through the clutter. Spices from the broken pots were sticking onto his bloody shoes.

While he was going through the mess, numerous thoughts were going inside his head.

_How do I get back to the entrance?_

_Am I going to get out of here alive?_

_I don't want to be fucking chopped up by some psychopath!_

_Holy shit, I need to get out._

_Christ, I made such a huge mess, this is hard getting through..._

More or less, he was having a panic attack. He nearly slipped from not concentrating on traversing through the kitchen.

Reaching the doorway out of the kitchen, he turned the corner out only to run into someone, bumping them down to the ground.

Rex looked down at who he had knocked down. It was a female with silver hair who was wearing black and white attire. A white maid headband was atop her head. It seemed he ran into one of the maids of the mansion, but she seemed different from all the others. She didn't have any wings, so… is she a human? The maid had a surprised expression on her face.

He felt his heart drop in fear, unsure if she would kill him or not like everything else he had encountered.

"H-Hey! Your human right?" Rex asked, hoping that she could help him escape. He still kept his distance away from her in case she became hostile and was forced to use his power.

Sakuya was on the ground, looking back at the human. The groceries she was holding had spilled out on the ground. She wasn't expecting to find him this quickly. The human looked distraught and in terrible condition. He had blonde hair that was like Marisa's but was short and stuck out weirdly in some places. His shoulder was bandaged in a bloody wrap, even his torn clothes were covered in dried blood.

The maid stood back up, dusting herself off. Rex was still anxiously staring at her, one hand gripping onto the door frame and the other balled up into a fist. He was only a couple of feet away from her.

"Yes, I am a human," Sakuya answered clearly, her voice sharp and clear. Her hands slowly went over to thigh, hovering above the knife holster, hidden by her skirt.

Rex suddenly grabbed onto her shoulders, catching her by surprise. She yelped at his sudden action. He was thrilled to find someone he could trust.

"Y-Yes! Please, we need to get out of here quickly!" Rex cried out to Sakuya, his hands were shaking as he held onto her shoulders. "Whoever you're working for… they're doing something terrible behind your back! We need to leave! Are there any others like you in here?"

Sakuya blankly stared back at Rex, her face showing no emotion. She now knew what he was getting at. He had come out of the kitchen, which probably meant that he saw the special ingredient. It seemed he came across the human she had previously chopped up for Rumia's dinner.

Pushing him away, Sakuya knew what she had to do.

"I think you misunderstood…" Sakuya responded, reaching for her knives.

"W-What?! I think you don't understand what's going on!" Rex objected, hoping he could explain the situation to her.

But that was not needed.

"I was the one who killed that human," Sakuya coldly replied, swiftly pulling out her three colored knives in one hand. She held them in front of her, hand near her chest as the knives dangerously gleamed.

Rex couldn't believe what he had just heard. A growing fear started to emerge inside him.

"T-There's no way! W-why would you want to kill someone and then fucking chop them up?!" Rex yelled back, hoping that this was some sick joke, but inside he knew there was no reason for her too. He slowly backed off into the kitchen, continuing to stare back at her.

"There's no need to tell you…," Sakuya whispered as she readied to throw her knives. "I'm afraid your time is up…"

"Wait! We can talk about thi-"

Before Rex could finish his sentence, Sakuya raised her arm across her face and swung.

Instantly, three knives became six. Those six then became twelve. Rex had just witnessed magic. The space in front of him became occupied with a barrage of knives.

That was when Rex desperately called out for his power, freezing time. The knives froze in place inches away from him.

"That should give me a couple of seconds," Rex sighed in relief.

Suddenly, he felt the air freeze up again like how it would when he used his powers… but he wasn't the one who did that...

"I don't think so…" A voice cut through the silence.

"Huh?!" Rex turned around to find the killer maid still moving, a knife in her hand, poised to strike.

_When did she get behind me? She was in front of me a moment ago! More importantly, how the hell is she still moving?!_

Sakuya had suspected Rex to have some sort of power, her conversation with Rumia aiding her in realizing that. She manipulated time for her to be able to move in his plane of time. Unlike Rex, she was able to control the flow of space and time, though she was unsure if Rex could do the same. What she didn't know was that he could only hold it for a certain amount of time.

But to find a human with similar powers as hers was chilling.

_This human needs to be stopped before he could do anything worse… humans loathe this kind of power… they fear it…_

"It seems you made quite the mess...," Sakuya seeing the condition the kitchen was in. It undoubtedly pissed her off, but she refused to let it get to her, remaining composed. She raised her knife threateningly towards Rex.

"Goddamnit!" Rex cursed to himself, finding himself in between the maid and a wall of knives. The stopwatch was still counting down in his mind, six seconds already passing.

_I'm nearly at my limit!_

Rex jumped up on the center countertop and leaped away to safety away. He unfroze time, the barrage of knives began to move again except this time Sakuya was in its path.

The knives flew towards her but before they could hit their mark, Sakuya had stopped time and safely got out of the way. From Rex's point of view, it just looked like she teleported out.

_Is that how it looks like when I do the same?_

Sakuya dashed towards Rex, not giving him time to relax. Somehow, more knives appeared in her hands.

"Shit!" Rex catching a glimpse of the maid behind him. Grabbing a cutting board, he managed to turn around and catch Sakuya stabbing down on him. The maid struck down with her knife but managed to lodge it deep into the board. He had to use everything to push back, even forcing himself to use his broken arm.

_AHHHH! FUCK!_

His arm felt like it had just broken a second time, shattering into pieces, but he perilously held on for his survival.

_Ah- Fuasdawlk?! Holy shit, this girl-... has some force!_

Rex felt himself get pushed back against the countertop. He struggled in holding the board as Sakuya pushed against him. His shoulder was starting to hurt again with the amount of force being exerted onto it.

"Your fate is already sealed, why struggle so much?" Sakuya coolly questioned Rex as she swiftly pulled out another knife, ready to jam it into his sides.

"Just...! Shut it!" Rex said as he clenched his teeth, speaking in between his pained breath. Somehow, he was managing to hold up against Sakuya with the cutting board. He swung it to the right, using the maid's force against her to throw her off before she could get in another stab.

Sakuya leaped back, nimbly landing atop one of the counters.

"_Tsk! _You certainly are making this difficult!" The maid fussed as she hurriedly flung out more knives towards him.

Rex watched as the few knives she threw become dozens.

"How are there this many knives?!" He dashed away to the kitchen exit, ducking with a cutting board in hand. The knives trailed behind him, embedding into the wall beside him.

Reaching the exit, he slid over the dining table, knocking down the silverware off the table.

Sakuya quickly followed behind, hell-bent on ending this stupid human's life. She scowled at how much of a mess he had already made. The thought of the human living and escaping from her grasp was both aggravating and embarrassing. She couldn't make the same mistake twice, the first time was when she had let Reimu and Marissa slip past. She didn't want to disappoint her mistress again.

Rex felt Sakuya's dagger-like glare piercing his back.

_Shitshitshitshit- she's catching up?!_

He kept on running for his life, his broken arm painfully aching while the other held the board. Sakuya was hesitant in using her powers to stop him, unsure of his capabilities with time manipulation. She was against another time user, something she was unprepared for.

_Why is he using his powers so sparingly? _Sakuya was stumped, uncertain of what to do next.

Reaching the big open room with two staircases leading up to the second floor, Rex had to do something.

He needed to get away from the maid, but how? He had no other option but to keep running. Taking the wide left staircase, he ran up but felt time freeze up momentarily.

Looking back, the maid was no longer behind him. His senses flared up screaming at him to move.

Turning back, the maid appeared right in front of him, ready to thrust a knife through his chest. He frantically raised the board with one hand, putting it in front of him. Rex barely managed to block the attack as the knife stabbed into the board. The strength behind the thrust sent him flying down the stairs, colliding into the floor as the board was sent tumbling away.

"G-augh!?" Rex gasped for a breath, the air knocked out of him. His shoulder erupted in pain, the fall made the injury feel even worse. He writhed in agony, the pain tormenting him. It was getting difficult for him to breath, gasping in between his hurtful cries.

Sakuya elegantly walked down the wide red-carpeted staircase, holding onto a single red hilted dagger.

"It was about time you stopped moving you rodent…" Sakuya scoffed as she slid a hand down the polished wooden railings.

Rex struggled to raise his head to look up at the descending maid.

_Fuck! Move! MOVE!_

He strained his body to crawl away- away from his death, but he could hardly move an inch.

Sakuya looked down at the trespasser, watching him squirm like a crushed bug on the floor.

"It is a shame to find another human with such a unique power…" She apologetically looked down at Rex, but she felt no remorse. This needed to happen, for what problems he could potentially cause in the future and for trashing the entire kitchen.

She had killed hundreds, maybe thousands of humans, and she never felt any guilt about any of them. Deep inside, if humans knew about the truth… they would despise it … fear its power…

But this one was different. He possibly could understand what it's like for her… what struggle it is to hold such power like this… but she needed to finish her job. It was her duty, something she had sworn on a long time ago... What was one more human going to hurt?

Rex winced at the waves of pain coming from his shoulder. He laid there on the floor as he stopped his struggling. It was useless.

_I'm sorry gramps… I- I- I wish I had spent more time with you… I- I know you want me to keep smiling… but I don't think I can anymore…_

Sakuya took notice of his sudden stillness.

_It seems he's given up. Wise choice…_

Rex could hear the clack of her shoes echoing through his fatigued mind as she came down the stairway. He could feel himself lose consciousness to exhaustion, his vision gradually turning darker and blurry.

Sakuya was a foot away from him on top of the stairs. She raised the single knife above her head, ready to send it through his heart.

Before losing consciousness, he caught a glimpse of a bright shining white light and a silhouetted figure.

_What a beautiful sig- _

Darkness washed over him.

Sakuya threw the knife down with a deadly aim, flying straight towards his exposed chest. She wasn't going to let him have a chance to react, freezing time herself. In that instance, she leaped high into the air and flung down hundreds of knives. They circled Rex, suspended in the air, ready to turn him into a pincushion.

Gracefully landing, she rose and crossed her arms raising a stopwatch and the other holding her signature knives.

With a confident voice, she announced loudly.

"Cancel!"

The suspended knives in the air unfroze, darting down to strike its intended target. It flew at a blinding speed, faster than the blink of an eye.

_*SHINK *_

…

The knives had met their mark.

but the human was still breathing, still laid unconscious on the carpeted floor.

_What?! _

Sakuya's eyes grew wide looking at what her knives had struck instead.

Magical floating books surrounded Rex, dozens of knives sticking out of each cover as was the floor. The books had protected Rex from her attack, not receiving a single scratch.

"What a waste of such valuable books…" A voice muttered disappointingly in the distance, Sakuya hearing a pair of footsteps approaching behind her through a dark hallway on the second floor.

"Clearly, but we have a more important matter to attend to Patche!" Another voice childishly replied, the footsteps getting closer. Sakuya recognized who they were and ran to the top of the stairs, kneeling in front of them.

"M-Mistress!" The maid apologetically exclaimed as she bowed to the mysterious person. Sakuya instantly knew who they were, her mistress and close friend, Remilia. The mistress of the mansion walked out of the dark hallways into the lit room.

She had the appearance of a child looking around the age of ten but carried a semblance of maturity. Atop her short light blue hair, she wore a pink mob cap decorated with a red and white ribbon. Her dress was pink as well, red ribbons wrapped around her sleeves and a larger one tied in a bow on her back, around her waist. She wore small brown slippers that clacked at every step. The most notable features, however, were two large bat-like wings protruding from her back.

"It seems we have arrived just in time…" Remilia sighed in relief as another figure appeared behind her.

"At the cost of my precious books, please remember that," A magical lady chided Remilia, holding onto a book like the ones that had protected Rex. She coughed loudly right after.

Her hair was purple with multiple colored ribbons tying her hair and other parts of her clothing. She wore pink pajama-like clothing and a nightcap with a gold crescent moon decorating it. Her dress had purple and violet vertical stripes running down the middle and wore small purple slippers. Despite possessing incredible magic, she has a weak constitution and possesses asthma.

"Yes, I have not forgotten Patche… will you please forgive me for this one time? This is much more significant than what you might imagine," Remilia sighed once more, fully knowing how much Patchouli loved her books.

"Well..." The magician began to speak-

"Mistress!"

Before Patchouli could respond, Sakuya spoke in turn, cutting her off.

"I apologize for my rude tone, but why save this human's life?" Sakuya asked, visibly upset with a bitter look on her face. "Are you aware of what he has already done and what problems he could potentially bring in the future if he continues to live? His powers pose a threat to us or any of our friends!"

Remilia listened to her question, closing her eyes after.

"As you know Sakuya, in my long lifetime, I have become prone to boredom … becoming interested in prizing anything that I find novel."

Sakuya nodded, continuing to listen to her mistress.

"That human-," Remilia pointed to the unconscious Rex as she opened her eyes back up. "Is exactly what I find peculiar. Though I already possess a time manipulating human, you Sakuya, imagine owning two of the rarest humans! Hahaha!" The vampire childishly laughed, bringing up her hand to her mouth. Patchouli covered her face with her book in shame.

"Wha-? Remilia, please reconsider this! That is no acceptable reason to have him continue to live!" Sakuya hotly responded.

"Well, of course, that isn't the only reason," Remilia calmly said, shortly after laughing. Her demeanor suddenly altering, becoming serious.

"That human… something about him tells me that his fate would end up being extraordinary. Somehow, it is connected to not only us but others in Gensokyo... I'm quite interested where this possibly could go..." The vampire was interested in finally seeing something happen, beginning to think of the possibilities of what could occur.

Sakuya always trusted Remilia, being close friends with her and abiding by everything she says, but this is the one time she whole heartily disagreed with her mistress. Even when knowing about Remilia's hand in the power of fate.

_That human is a time manipulator, nothing good can ever come from those… I, myself, can confirm that..._

She spoke to herself, not bringing herself to disagree with Remilia. She would just comply with her orders, trusting in Remilia in making the right decision.

Patchouli peeked out of her book, catching a glimpse of conflict that appears on Sakuya's face for a split second before returning to her usual look.

_Was this the best decision Remi? If perchance, I had not told her, how would have this played out? ... Hah… there's no reason to contemplate this for any longer. I just want to return to my library and read. _Patchouli thought to herself, sulking inside her mind. Her mood diminished every time she thought of the books she sacrificed for Remi's sake.

The magician let out a cough then sighed, rubbing her head right after. She left the two to deal with the matter themselves and wandered to the library where Koakuma was still organizing books.

Dropping down to her usual spot, Patchouli turned on a tulip-shaped lamp on her desk. She turned the page where she had left off and continued reading. While reading, she heard a subtle patter.

_Is it raining again? Hm… What perfect weather to be reading... _

Patchouli leaned back in her chair, flipping through the pages of her book as the soothing faint sounds of the rain resounded through the mansion.

* * *

Alright, I managed to finish this through winter break despite still being sick... I'll be busy again so I won't have much time to pump out longer and frequent chapters until the next break because of school stuff. That sucks, but hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter! I have done some more research on Touhou and I hope I have been nailing it. I'm not too well educated in the lore so I've been reading a bunch of shit. I might've missed some mistakes in this chapter, but please let me know so I can quickly change them! I'm glad some of you guys enjoy the story. Thank you for reading and happy late New Year!


	8. Chapter 8

Darkness.

It was all he could see.

Looking up, a bright moon illuminated the darkened skies. His surroundings suddenly filled up with colors, morphing into a lush forest. The sounds of rustling trees and the wind whistling resounded throughout the area.

It was a serene moment for Rex as he stood on a familiar-looking rock formation, but that moment would be brief. He heard the crackling of branches to his right, turning to the sound. Fear gripped his heart, a recognizable feeling he couldn't help but dread.

A shadowy figure appeared out of the bushes, snarling at the sight of him. It leaped at him, crashing into Rex.

He tumbled to the ground with his attacker, struggling as he felt his arms get pinned down. He could barely make out his attacker, a small dark entity with fangs.

Fangs.

Wait…!

He realized what was going to happen, but it was too late. His attacker bit down into his shoulder, enormous pressure crushing him. An all-too-familiar pain shattered through his shoulder.

"_AHHHHH!" _

Rex screamed as he got up, eyes clenched shut as he clawed at his shoulder.

_H-Huh?!_

He opened his eyes to find himself half-naked in bed, the pillows and sheets colored in a dark shade of red. The fear still shook him, shuddering in place.

_Wha- where am I?_

Looking around, it was a well-kept bedroom with a closet and a large drawer with a mirror attached to the wall. Beside the bed were two bedside tables with lit candles atop, dimly lighting the red room and small windows that let in some moonlight. In front of the bed was the door, closed shut.

Rex began to move around until he felt a sharp pain around his shoulder. Looking at his injury, he realized the blood-soaked wrap was replaced with a fresh white bandage along with his arm in a cast. It was tightly done to make sure it was properly treated.

_These feel brand new… _He glided his fingers over the bandages.

Rex carefully got out of bed, touching the wooden floor barefoot, only to recoil back from the shocking cold. Hesitating, he ignored the frozen boards, numbing his feet, and cautiously made his way to the door.

_What is going on here? _Rex wondered, only remembering that he lost consciousness at the bottom of some stairs.

Pulling open the door, he was met with a recognizable maid standing right in front of him. She held a silver tray with what seemed to be a soup atop it.

"Oh, you're finally awake," Sakuya said impassively, walking by him to place the tray on the drawer. Rex scrambled away from her as she made her way.

"Y-You?!" He fearfully shouted out, backing up against the wall. Various thoughts were going through his head as the maid turned to him. "Get back! I warned you!"

Rex grabbed whatever he could, a small booklet off of one of the shelves by him and waved it threateningly at her.

Sakuya sighed at his pitiful display as she walked up to him. Her hand instantly appeared at his wrist as she forced him down to the ground, dropping the booklet. He was put into an awkward strainful position as she continued to hold his wrist, her strength overpowering his.

"Don't do anything funny. Follow my directions or else I'll be breaking your other arm," Sakuya intimidatingly ordered, putting more force behind her grip.

"Ack?!" Rex cried in pain, his arm being put into an awkward position. In fear of his other arm being broken, he gave in. "A-alright! Alright! I'll listen!" He felt her let go, relieving himself. His wrists stung as he glared at her.

"You should be grateful. If it weren't for my master's orders… you wouldn't be here," scowled Sakuya. "I've brought some food for you." She brought the tray laying on the drawer over to him.

Getting up from the floor, he looked down at the tray to see a warm bowl of soup. He was famished, drooling as he smelled the dish. But he couldn't trust a damn thing in this mansion after seeing that chopped up human. He covered his mouth with a hand as he felt nauseous thinking about it. Rex pushed the tray away from him, clearly not interested in eating.

"Don't worry, it's not made from humans," Sakuya pointed out, picking up on his thoughts. "It's chicken soup, something to start as you were out for three days," she insisted.

"T-Three days?!" Rex finally talking, startled for how long he was out. He looked back at the dish and couldn't handle his stomach's constant growling. Giving in to his hunger, he decided to give it a taste.

"Do you require any assistance?" Sakuya offered, raising a spoon. He wouldn't be able to properly eat the soup she prepared.

"H-Hell no! I'll do it myself…" Rex waved his arm in disapproval. He could not fathom the thought of his killer spoon-feeding him.

"_Hmph-_ Wise choice. It would pain me to have to feed you, even alone think of it," the maid scoffed, having offered her help only because of her job. It was pretty clear that she disliked the task her master assigned her.

"_Tch_, good to know I'm not the only one," He retorted.

With a shaky hand, he picked up the bowl with his good arm. Rex hesitantly brought the soup to his mouth.

Much to his surprise, it tasted just like... chicken soup… as she had just stated.

He drank the entire thing out of starvation. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he placed the bowl back on the tray, letting out a warm sigh.

_Hah… Wait- do humans taste like chicken?! _

Rex dreaded at the thought before the maid flicked the back of his head.

"You idiotic humans... " Sakuya sighed, picking back up the tray. "Always reluctant to question every obscure detail," she bitterly spat out before disappearing.

Rex stood there rubbing the spot on his head, mumbling in frustration. According to the maid, he was being kept here on her master's command, the only reason he was still in one piece and not chopped up for what could possibly be their next meal. He shuddered at the thought.

Sakuya had put away the tray and appeared back with a cup of tea in hand. "Here, this herbal tea will help ease the pain caused by your injuries," she handed him the cup and saucer.

"T-Thanks…," He muttered.

Despite their conflict three or so days ago, he couldn't turn down her aid even if her "kindness" was forced. Rex accepted the tea and sat on the bed, sipping at it. It had an unpleasant bitter taste but he surmised that's just how medicine usually tastes.

"…"

"..."

The mood was awkward as Sakuya nonchalantly watched him from the end of his bed as he sat on the side of it, drinking her tea.

_Can you stop staring... please…? _

After a few troublesome minutes for Rex, he was nearly finished. It was making him uncomfortable as he could feel her stare bore into his side as he drank the last drop. Coughing to catch her attention, he handed the empty cup without looking at her.

"T-Thank you… I appreciate it," Rex whispered under his breath, bothered with having to thank the maid, prior to having memories of her trying to kill him. She took the cups without a word and vanished.

Alone for a bit, he collapsed back onto the bed, one arm outstretched and the other still in his cast. He could feel the tea's effect start to kick in, his sore muscles and aching slowly disappearing. Instead, it was replaced with heavy drowsiness that washed over him.

Rex could feel his eyelids get heavier by the second as he laid atop the red sheets.

"Jeez… what was in that drink..." he tiringly muttered.

In a matter of seconds, he fell asleep from the combination of both his exhaustion in his weakened state and the medicinal tea. Sakuya was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed as she watched him sleep. In her left hand, she was casually flipping her knife around her fingers with expertise.

_Just what do you see in this human… Remilia…_

Sakuya couldn't find a single thing about him that stood out aside his time power, a poor imitation of its powerful predecessor. He wields a power that shouldn't belong in the hands of some careless human. The maid glowered at Rex and threw the knife in her hand.

_**Ker-Thunk!**_

It landed right above his head, lodged into the wooden edges of the bed. Rex, unaware of how close he was to death, continued to sleep away… alone in the room.

* * *

"Achoo!" sneezed a red-headed gatekeeper.

She was inside the mansion all drenched from standing guard in the rain. Meiling had fallen asleep outside. Not even the rain could wake her up.

She sat on a wooden chair in the recently cleaned dining room. Koakuma was right behind her with a towel in hand, drying off her hair.

"Geez Meiling, at least remember to bring an umbrella outside…," the devil pouted, rustling the towel over Meiling's scarlet hair.

"Oh yeah! I should've thought of that!" Meiling finally realizing what she could have done, Koakuma nearly facepalming at her stupidity.

"You should've known better Meiling," a voice called out, Sakuya appearing right before them. "Knowing you, you probably wouldn't have," she sighed, grinning at her good friend.

"Hey... what's that supposed to entail?" Meiling mumbled, leaning forward against the tabletop.

"Quit moving if you want to be properly dried!" Koakuma cried out, reaching forward along with Meiling to keep up with her.

"Hai~," the gatekeeper listened, staying still as the devil finished drying her hair. She left the towel laying atop her head, drooping over the sides of her face. Meiling's soaked cap hung off the coat rack off the wall.

"So… any news on the human?" Asked the gatekeeper, propping herself up with an elbow atop the table.

"Yeah, he's awake," Sakuya replied, properly arranging the plates inside one the cabinets.

"R-really?!" Meiling jumped up ecstatically. "Looks like we'll have another hand around the mansion~!"

"It would be nice to have more people around," Koakuma joined in.

"Hmph, I doubt that," the maid stated, shutting the cabinet doors. "I reckon he'll want to go to the human village rather than staying here."

"Huh? Why?" the gatekeeper asked.

"I refuse to support and work with a person like him," Sakuya bluntly stated as she headed into the kitchen.

"But didn't you mention at one point that you wouldn't mind an extra hand? You even said you would prefer them to be human! This is your opportunity!" Meiling fretted, taking the towel off her head.

"Yes, I have," the maid confessed before turning to face the gatekeeper. "But this human was not what I had in mind. He could rot away for all I care… actually, it would be better for him too."

"I mean it all comes down to what Remilia says," stated Koakuma, taking a seat beside a disgruntled Meiling. "What has she said to all this?"

"...," Sakuya refused to answer her question, staying silent as she went into the kitchen.

"Hehe, I'm guessing she said yes after all~!" Meiling excitedly said, picking up on Sakuya's silent answer before a dagger suddenly pierced into the table in front of her. "Yeesh, she's really upset today," the gatekeeper jumped back in surprise.

"I think she's been like that for the past couple days Meiling…," Koakuma muttered in disbelieve, wondering how the gatekeeper was not aware of her friend's recent attitude.

"Let's go spar, Sakuya! We haven't had one in a while!" Meiling jumped up becoming bored with the tense atmosphere.

"W-wait! Where will you guys fight? It's raining outside right now," Koakuma stammered, perplexed at the guard's sudden change of mood.

"Outside, where else?"

"Wha-?" the devil let out a confused breath.

"Who cares if it's raining, that'll make the sparring session a lot more thrilling!" Meiling grinned, punching the air in front of her.

"I'm willing to have a spar," Sakuya answered, wanting to take her mind off of her work for a bit. She needed something to release her pent up stress.

"O~kay!" the gatekeeper hollered, raising a fist in the air. She marched to the entrance of the mansion. "Come on Sakuya! Let's get sparring already!"

"Don't expect me to dry you again Meiling," Koakuma sighed as she got out of her seat, heading toward the library.

"Hehe! I won't be going easy on you this time!" Meiling challenged, crossing her arms.

"We'll see about that," grinned Sakuya, trailing behind the gatekeeper to head outside for their upcoming spar.

This was what she needed, a good spar to get her worries off her mind.

* * *

Patchouli let out a tired sigh as she closed the book she had just finished reading. She placed it on top of a pile of books stacked beside her, adding another to its collection.

She stretched out her arms in her seat, relieving her muscles. Outside, the pattering of rain was filled with the clashes of fist and knives.

"I figure they're at it again," the witch said as she laid back in her seat, hearing the sounds of familiar sparring between her two friends. "I suppose it has been quite a while…"

She stared at the book she had been reading, a human illustrated onto the cover.

_I wonder how the human is faring… _

Closing her eyes, she listened in to the sparring session.

_Hm... Sakuya is not going easy today._

* * *

Rex had dreamt of the bizarre clockwork world he had previously been in, finding himself back in its outlandish environment. The last time he was here was when the whole place was crumbling, but not a trace of that seems to have happened.

"Why the hell am I back here again," Rex grumbled, standing atop the giant rotating gear. Ruffling his hair, he could only guess what was coming next. It was discouraging to find himself back in this dreadful place, the area filled with a sense of foreboding.

Only the echoing clunk and thuds of rotating gears would respond.

He sighed and continued to observe his strange surroundings until a clear voice cut the silence.

"_Are you the one they call… Rex?_"

Rex was startled by the sudden voice, looking around to find the speaker.

"Y-yeah! Who are you?" He called out into the dark clock-like world.

"_My identity carries no importance as much as this warning I bring,"_ the mysterious voice spoke inside his head. "_Listen well, as I don't have much time..." _

"A-Alright, I'm listening," Rex hesitantly responded, unsure of what was transpiring.

"_Be wary of what the future may hold… a power like yours is desperately sought for…,"_ The voice warned him until a static noise started to fill Rex's mind.

"_If you can't contro-...-.-__**turn**__-.-..-.__**aga-inst**__-.-...-__**yo-**__-.-_"

"Agh?!" He cried in pain as he was clutching at his head. The voice was becoming scrambled in with the noise, unclear of what he was saying.

"_-.-Esse-..-.-nce.-...-Spring. .-"_

"Urgh?! M-make it stop!" Rex screamed at the top of his lungs. He held his trembling head as he fell to his knees, the static resounding throughout his mind. His mind felt like it could split in two.

"S-stop! STOP!"

His mind went blank.

…

*_chirp chirp chirp*_

A new sound entered his hollow thoughts, of crickets chirping in the distance.

Opening his eyes, he was met with the same dimly lit scarlet room he had been in. His head was slightly throbbing from the nightmare he just had.

_W-what the hell was that…? Urgh…_

Rubbing his temple, he got out of bed, vaguely remembering what happened. He turned to fix the sheets and noticed a familiar knife embedded into the wooden framing above where he had slept.

_Yikes... What was going on when I was knocked out?_

After properly tidying up the bed, he pulled out the dagger which took a bit of force for how deep it was lodged into the framing. It was a blue dagger belonging to the maid he disliked _very_ much.

_Did she try to kill me when I was asleep? _Rex pondered, the thought worrying him, knowing he wasn't safe regardless of where he was in this cursed mansion.

Looking out one of the small windows in his room, it seemed he had woken up in the middle of the night, another day he had slept through. His sleeping schedule was definitely fucked up now.

Stretching out his only working arm, he could feel the effects of the medicinal tea. His recovery had been somewhat faster, unable to feel some of the previous sore spots on his body. He was still half-naked, shirt nowhere to be seen, but his red short jacket was hanging off a rack by the door. The night was getting colder so he just stuck with it, wearing the jacket over his bare upper body.

His homemade cast was getting in the way, so he just ultimately decided to take it off. Unwrapping the binds, he freed his hand from the multiple bandages wrapped around it. Opening and closing his hands, his arm almost felt good as new, only slight twinges of pain here and there. It looks like he'll have to be careful with it for the time being.

For his shoulder… yeah, he won't be messing with that for now.

Treading across the freezing floor, he grabbed a candle off his bedside table and walked outside his room for the first time. Looking around, it was a dimly lit carpeted corridor. Candles and lanterns hung off the walls providing meager lighting with windows letting in the moonlight.

"This place looks creepy as hell now that I think about it…," Rex muttered to himself, choosing to just wander around.

Walking down the hallway, the shuffling of his steps and chirping of nighttime insects were all he could hear. Coming up to a split pathway, he knew the whole mansion was a damn labyrinth. Taking a left, he continued down the hallway until hearing a rustling behind him.

He immediately swerved around at the sound, candle raised in front of him. There was nothing there.

"Oh don't do this to me, please," Rex begged in fear, feeling as if he was that idiot that went into the scary mansion in every typical horror movie to end up dying. He maintained his composure and persisted ahead, cautiously checking every angle.

After a couple of minutes of nothing happening, he couldn't anticipate what would happen next. The lanterns and candles lighting the hallways snuffed out simultaneously, leaving himself with his candle in hand.

"Oh fuck me," Rex mumbled, knowing something was coming.

He felt it, a powerful presence was just ahead of him. The darkness made it hard to figure out its appearance, only its red eyes stared back.

Rex was speechless, alarmed at what he was seeing. He scrambled back in terror, watching the scarlet eyes advance towards him.

"H-Hey! Don't mess with me! I-I'll burn this whole damn place down with me if I have too!" He threatened, figuring he could light the carpeted floor on fire. It was an attempt to escape the situation but it was futile.

"And to think this is the human supposed to play a large part in fate," the stranger sighed, getting closer to him.

"I-I mean it! I really will-." Rex shouted, poise to throw down the candle.

For a split second, he caught sight of the figure, the moonlight revealing them. It was a young girl with light blue hair in a light pink dress. Then, they disappeared- only to appear right in front of him.

Scarlet eyes gazed back at him, her face a couple of inches away from his face. Raising her hand towards the candle, she extinguished the flame by simply putting her thumb and index finger together at the tip. She smiled back, showing off her fanged teeth. Rex jumped back away in shock only to find her floating in the air.

_A-a vampire?!_

"Fate surely is unpredictable… I suppose it's destiny for us to meet my lowly servant," the mystical stranger chuckled, giving him a devilish grin. An audible gulp could be heard from Rex.

"D-Don't tell me…" He spoke, aware of who he was standing in front of.

"Ah, have you realized who you're standing in the presence of?" the vampire boastfully said, putting both her hands to her waist. She straightened her back and raised her chin in an attempt to appear taller.

"Yes, it is I, the lost daughter of the Vlad Tepes, Remilia!"

_..._

_Uh… who?_

* * *

alright- for starters, I apologize for how long it took to update this but I have been pretty busy! I've been doing stuff for college portfolios and school/art has been sucking up my free time. Also, I did get a bit stuck on this chapter lmao, but I know where to drive this story now!

So I've read my other chapters and found a handful of errors (oh lord- but mostly grammatical). To let you know, I proofread my writing and I'm not exactly the best at it -.- I do try my best but please bear with it. I'll be going back to fix those minor errors and hopefully, I'll catch them all. As per usual, if you spot any misconceptions let me know! Thank you for reading and enjoy your day!


	9. Chapter 9

"Yes, it is I, the lost daughter of _the_ Vlad Tepes, Remilia!"

…

Silence hung in the air.

Rex was stunned at the mysterious figure posed in front of him.

Only the sounds of rain beating against the windows of the mansion gave the corridor any sense of reality.

The figure, who called themselves Remilia, was a young girl dressed in old fashioned clothing.

But what made her stand out was the small bat-like wings sprouting out of her back.

Also her floating. Definitely not normal.

"I see you're at a loss of words," Remilia chuckled, bringing a hand up to her mouth. "I would too if the daughter of the infamous Vlad Tepes presented themselves to me."

_What the hell is she saying?_

"I-Is that someone I should know?"

Shock coursed through Remilia's body.

"You are from the outside world? Am I correct?"

"I … guess?"

"Then you should have certainly known Vlad! He was a hero to Romania and an infamous vampire!"

"I-I'm sorry but I've never heard of him…" Rex truthfully answered.

"He must have been forgotten in time…" Remilia muttered to herself. She frowned at the thought as she floated back to the ground. "Meh, the name has not aged well since I've last used it. It's about time I abandon such a title. What a bother," She dismissively waved her hand.

"So…" Rex was unsure what to do. Any wrong decision could possibly get him killed.

Remilia took notice of his uneasy state. She sighed and crossed her arms.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am the rightful owner of this mansion, Remilia Scarlet. Also the one responsible for saving your life."

Rex had a sneaking suspicion that she was. Despite her child-like appearance, she emitted a mature and powerful aura.

_So she's the reason why I'm still in one piece and not on the dinner table._

"I-Is there any specific reason _why_ you're keeping me alive?" He asked, concerned for his fate.

"You make it sound like we're keeping you captive," Remilia scoffed, walking past him with her eyes shut.

"Then what worth am I to you?" Rex got up, attentively watching her stroll on. "If I really am not much of a bother, shouldn't I be better off ending up as food?"

"Are you suggesting you want to end up as our next meal?" Remilia said without looking back.

"N-No… I would prefer to still be alive and moving," he nervously muttered, noting he should make sure not to overstep his boundaries.

"Let's say I am particularly interested in finding anything… unique," Remilia spun on her heel, giving him a peculiar look that sent shivers down his spine. "And you fit that category perfectly~." She grinned, showing off her pointed canines.

He instinctively backed off as if he was the prey and she was the predator.

"L-Look… all I want is to return home," he somberly sighed, head hanging low.

"I'm afraid that's not possible"

"Huh?" Rex said in a daze. "What do you mean it's not possible?"

"It would take far too long to explain," Remilia groaned. She did not need to explain the whole situation of Gensokyo's great Hakurei barrier. "It would be better off knowing you have no chance of returning."

"Then do you know anyone named Yukari?" He asked, wanting to get some questions answered. "She was the one that brought me here."

Remilia gave a visible reaction to the name, frowning at its mention.

"So she was responsible for this…" she sighed.

"That means… you know her?"

The vampire turned to face him and crossed her arms. "All too well… I figured you were taken from the random warp holes she makes in the outside world. But to think she took you personally…"

"Is there any way I can meet her?" He asked once more.

"I do not know the whereabouts of her exact location but she frequently visits the shrine maiden by the human village," Remilia insightfully answered.

"Then I'm going!" Rex balled up his fists. "If she took me here, then she can take me back."

"I doubt that," the vampire sighed. "She never takes anyone back to the outside world."

"I'll make her then!" He angrily growled, clenching his teeth. "There's no way in hell I'm staying here."

"Tsk tsk," Remilia clicked with her tongue. "I'm afraid I can't let you."

"Wha- what do you mean?"

"Let's see… you trampled parts of my lovely garden, made a mess of the carpets, demolished our fine kitchen and the dining room to let you know, we had to personally take care of your wounds- ," she listed on, counting each of his mishaps with her fingers.

"A-Alright! I get it!" Rex interrupted, begging for her to stop. "I apologize but I want to return home, where I belong."

"An apology won't fix anything," Remilia grinned. "You'll need to somehow compensate for all the trouble you've caused."

"I… I don't have anything on me," He muttered, now shivering since he was still bare-chested with only his tattered coat on.

"Perfect!" The vampire cheered, hands clasped together. "I have a suitable solution for you…" She gave him a devious grin.

He gave an audible gulp, fearing what she might demand.

_Blood? A part of my body? Money? _Rex began thinking of what a vampire might want from him.

"From now on, you'll be serving under me- Remilia Scarlet!" The vampire proudly announced.

Rex stared at her in disbelief.

This was worse than any other thing he had thought up.

* * *

Hello! As you can see, this is a very short chapter, but I am letting you guys know I have not forgotten about this! I have just been working on other stories and drawing, getting caught up with this mess. I'll be putting my attention back to his for the time being (considering I have all of the quarantine to just write/draw). Don't take my word for it but hopefully, more chapters will be coming soon! Thank you for reading and stay healthy out there guys!

As per usual, if you spot any misconceptions/misinformation, let me know so I can fix it!


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